Termination of Spirit: Contract's Initiation
by Eternal Longing
Summary: In Wales, his fate is decreed. In Japan, his future unfolds. In danger, his potential is unveiled. Negi Springfield once again faces a crisis, magical in nature. However, the true threat is so subtle that no one knows it's there, not even Negi himself.
1. Meetings in Wales

**Disclaimer:** Negima! is not owned by anyone on unless said person is Ken Akamatsu in disguise… which translates to mean **ownership is not mine.** But… all OCs created by my words, taken from my ideas, and put onto paper are mine and only mine.

**Notes:**

"Speech."

'_Thoughts.'_

"**Spells."**

**Backstory:**

About half a year after the Mahora Festival and Chao Lingshen's arc, Negi Springfield goes to Wales on a mission to capture three rogue mages. The experience and credentials he gained in dealing with Chao (who he convinced to stay in the present) advanced him to the next level of Magi, what some call the "Traveler". A Traveler takes on missions and lends a helping hand to the magic societies around the world. Usually, a Traveler also leaves his country and travels around the world on the way.

Negi, however, declines the offer of joining a group of other Traveler Magi and states that he wished to continue teaching at Mahora. However, in order to advance all the way to Minister Magi, he must first accomplish the tasks set out for him and take on missions to rise in rank. As a result, he leaves behind his students in Takahata's care.

In Wales, Negi is quickly briefed on his targets: three youthful mages older than Negi himself by only a few years. "Our intelligence agents do not believe the names written on these rogue mages' IDs but for lack of better information, they have been labeled as Ansien, Sagio, and Risc.

Out of the trio, only the delinquent Sagio had attended Merdiana Magic Academy. His crime was the theft of three books from the Black Magic section of Merdiana's library and the injuries of the two teachers who had confronted him on his behavior. Those two reasons resulted in him being labeled as the most dangerous of the trio. Also supporting the decision was the relatively un-harmful actions of Ansien and Risc: petty crimes like theft with magic. The three were linked by the magical glamours (appearance affecting illusions) they wore, all performed by the same mage.

Taking all the information in, Negi is given a hotel room to sleep in which he gratefully takes. In the middle of the night, he is attacked by Sagio. Negi is able to fend the mage off and even to inflict a wound, but Sagio manages to escape when reinforcements, in the form of Negi's childhood friend Anya, arrives.

With her enhanced skill in telepathy magic and divining from her experience as a fortune teller, Negi is able to find out where the three had gathered. With Anya contacting the authorities, Negi sets out to confront the three and either capture them or stall for time until reinforcements could come to finish up. When they realize that their cover is blown, the three rogue mages run for the woods with Negi close on their heels. He follows them all the way to an old mansion in the wilderness surrounding Wales. It is only when he is trapped inside, does Negi realize that he had been playing right into the hands of his enemies…

**Termination of Spirit: Contract's Initiation**

**Chapter One: Meetings in Wales**

Eleven year old Negi Springfield breathed heavily as he darted to and fro between the giant pillars as magical bolts tore chunks of the dusty marble floor behind him. A flash of movement in the corner of his eye was the only warning before he felt a stinging numbness where a mass of darkness had hit his left arm. He was knocked into the air and landed heavily a moment later. Using his momentum, Negi reduced the impact with a roll and flipped himself back upright with his right hand.

His vault into the air saved him, pushing him out of the way as two black bolts sizzled in front of him, the leading edge of the twin arrows of magic slicing easily through his robes. Out of the corner of his right eye, he saw the close encounter with death pass him exploding into nothingness as it collided with the ancient mansion's wall. Using the resulting dust, he catapulted himself backwards with both his magically enhanced strength and momentum to end up ducked behind a relatively un-collapsed pillar that was sporting a head-sized whole. Then, Negi did the unthinkable: he blessed his short stature for giving him this hiding place from certain destruction.

Silence filled the room as much as the dust did. With the silence came back the clarity of mind that Negi had lost in the panic and desperate rush of dodging his enemies' killing intent. _'Three rogue magicians scattered in this ancient hallway blocking me from the exit and reinforcements,'_ Negi thought to himself. _'What a great situation!'_

"What are you doing, boy?" an arrogant voice taunted in English at the lapse of movement, "Hiding won't do you any good." The voice, who Negi identified as Sagio's, continued, "Don't you know there's nowhere to run?"

Negi ignored the words completely and focused instead on what he had learned the past year with his teachers in magic and martial arts: a certain female vampire mage known as Evangeline and his unearthly strong student, Ku Fei.

With Sagio's voice in the background, Negi's mind ran through his choices. As soon as the thought of close combat crossed his mind, he demolished the idea, attacking it with quick logic.

Though he considered himself a combat mage, he knew he had no hope of defeating three mages at once. Add that to his numb left arm and his less than perfect instant movement technique and it seemed as if that option was neatly crossed out.

'So,' he thought ticking off close combat to his enemy's incantation. 'I'll have to beat them with magic.'

Technically, he did have more magic than them. His capacity was large and virtually untouched. Also, all he had done was to dodge the countless spells thrown his way for the pass fifteen minutes. Even the chase earlier that day had not taken much of his magical reserves to survive while matching their speed and catch up to them.

On the contrary, physical exhaustion threatened his balance like a ton of weight on his shoulders. Lack of sleep did not help at all. That decided it for him.

'It's time to try that new spell Master taught me,' Negi grinned.

He stepped around the pillar just as the girl, Risc, finished her incantation sending seventeen deadly bolts of black destruction his way. He outran the homing bolts with a single burst of magic, pulling off an instant movement with his incantation already tumbling out of his mouth.

"**Ras Tel Ma Scir Magica,"** Negi muttered as he cut out of his dash behind a sheltering pillar. The words brought the familiar rush of magic through his body with his spell to unlock his magic. **"Song of Casting,"** he uttered, ducking behind the next in the sequence of pillars to dodge another flurry of arrows.

His next dash out of cover brought him into the view all three of his opponents. Their grins of anticipation unnerved him but he was not given the time to dwell on their foresight. The two male mages shouted together.

"**Undecim spiritus obscuri… SAGITTA MAGICA, SERIES OBSCURI!" **

Negi dashed forward, meeting the twenty-two magical bolts head on. Negi grinned as danger approached him with rapidity. The effects of Negi's earlier spell gave him the edge and became increasingly apparent when he shouted, "Reflexio!" three times in quick succession. The three defense spells appeared one after the other, speedily blocking the dark energy and deflecting them into the floor, ceiling, and surroundings.

With his spell reducing the time needed for incantations, Negi used the dust from his quick defense as a cover. Not waiting a second more, he cast his deciding spell with the small explosions still ringing in his ears.

"**Undeduocenti spiritus lucis, coeuntes inimicum… SAGITTENT!" **

The resulting explosion lit up the dark mansion as completely as a revolving floodlight. The anticipant expressions on the trios' fled as quickly as shadows from light, their concentration focused on their barriers which started to crack from the impact of a hundred and ninety-nine arrows of light. Negi felt himself wavering but let the spell take its toll on his magical reserves nonetheless.

Negi blinked furiously in concentration before he glanced at his opponents for a sign of weakness. To his amazement, their appearances changed before his eyes. Comparing their features to the photos he had been given during the mission briefing, there was no doubt they were the same people but very different indeed.

With the brightness of his spell, his eyes were nearly blinded though he could make out their faces. All he could make out were the outlines of their faces and indescribable colors that were not of the norm, even to his experience with the strange Class of 3-A. All further thoughts were banished from her mind his ears caught the end of an incantation

"**SAGITTA MAGICA!"** Risc exclaimed, thrusting her hand forward and launching another stream of dark magic. Negi braced himself for an impact, assuming that her stronger bolts would rip through his arrows of light which had the unfortunate limit of a punch's strength.

But the impact never came as the bolts never reached him. His remaining light energy ripped through her oppositely dark energy as if her spell had never been cast.

Negi watched in confusion as their shields broke and they drowned in a sea of bright light, their reactions giving very different responses to the incredulity Negi was expecting.

None of them had regret or fear on their faces. In stark contrast, their expressions included a wolfish grin, a petulant pout, and smile of farewell that told of a future meeting. Before he could decide what to think of their reactions, Negi collapsed from exhaustion.

When he awoke, Negi found his body in a soft bed with Anya asleep over the covers. He smiled at her sleeping face and closed his eyes again. With his sight blocked by his eyelids, he relaxed and focused other senses on his surroundings. The bed felt wonderful and the silence was welcoming. Not even his worry about the outcome of his battle with the rogue mages could ruin the peacefulness of the room.

'_The rogues…'_ A groan escaped his lips unwillingly as Negi tried suddenly to get up. His whole body ached and he winced, squeezing shut his eyes in reply to his body's painful clamor. Before he knew it, Negi felt himself pushed back onto his back by a soft but firm hand. Knowing that the culprit was Anya, Negi let her reposition the covers over his shoulders and listened to her voice ordering him to rest.

Negi felt the bed shift as her weight settled onto the edge. He turned his head to face her but before he could even smile, she started heatedly scolding him, "Baka! You're such a fool. We could see your magic from a mile away; couldn't you be more inconspicuous? That way, you wouldn't be in such a weak condition right now. If you were really an English gentleman, then you wouldn't make others worry like this!"

"Thank you for the wake-up call, Anya, _(Where did you learn Japanese?),_" Negi replied weakly, his voice betraying his weakened state. Despite his fatigue, Negi licked his dry lips and continued in a stronger voice. "I remember when you used to storm into my room first thing in the morning and drag me to school, whether or not you had to dress me yourself. We haven't had much time to catch up, but you haven't changed much from that time you shouted 'Impossible!' into my face back at Merdiana. I have to say, that was a great source of encouragement."

Anya blinked, and stared at him as if he had sprouted another head. She smacked him upside the head before replying, "Where's the gratitude, Negi? Don't go commenting on whether or not someone else has changed when your own lack of change is what worries others. It's all because you couldn't get up yourself. If I hadn't waken you, who would have? No one, that's who, and you'd still be at Merdiana now if I hadn't pitied you."

"Yes, yes, the credit is all yours, now if you don't mind me changing the topic… What happened to the mission? All I remember is passing out from… well, you know what I mean."

Anya smiled mockingly, "And here I thought that those words would have been the first thing out of your mouth."

"Anya!" Negi cried in frustration.

Seeing worry eat away at her childhood friend, Anya took pity and replied, "Captured, all three of them; we got to their unconscious forms a few minutes after you cast that reckless spell." Here, she smacked him again before adding, "It would have been as great a surprise as your foolishness if they had managed to withstand that. Even if your nature hasn't changed much, your magical ability sure has. I wouldn't have thought going to Japan would improve your magic so much."

"Speaking of going to Japan," Negi started conversationally now that his worry concerning the rogue mages had been dispelled. "How's London? Have you passed yet?"

"Of course I've passed," Anya replied smugly, "In fact, I passed two weeks before you sent that stiff sounding letter to Nekane-san."

"Eh?" Negi exclaimed in shock, "Why didn't you tell me you had passed? I would've sent a letter to you!"

"And did you know where to address the letter?" Anya questioned imperiously.

Thinking furiously, Negi ended up with nothing. "No…" he replied but tried to quickly add some form of apology when Anya's hand came up. Believing he was about to get hit again, Negi shut his eyes and braced himself.

When the expected impact did not come, Negi cautiously opened his eyes. He caught the last of her sentence, "…didn't know your address either." With those words and Anya's shrug, Negi quickly put together her sentence.

"Actually, I didn't know your address either," she had said with arms up in a gesture implying, "Oh well, what can you do?"

"What's wrong, Negi?"

Anya's voice snapped Negi from his thoughts. Blinking with vigor, Negi replied, "Nothing."

"It better be nothing. If I thought you were daydreaming while I kept you company…" Anya muttered, trailing off with the implied threat hanging in the air. With her mood dangerous, Negi kept silent and watched as she smoothed out her clothing.

Her actions suddenly made Negi rather self-conscious about what he was wearing. He was inwardly aghast to be in Anya's presence with him wearing only the dirty battle outfit that had pretty much been reduced to rags albeit with a sense of modern style. Negi, in comparing his clothing to Anya's, quite suddenly noticed what she was wearing: a white blouse and a black skirt that was a slightly darker color than the dark blue magician's cloak she wore over everything else.

Though her clothing was slightly wrinkled from her earlier sleep, compared to his, her clothes looked so much more comfortable. He suddenly felt so uncomfortable that even his intense dislike of baths was overcome in one bound and he would like nothing better than to soak in some hot water. Negi shook his head to clear his thoughts. If he was yearning for a bath then that meant his battle with the rogue mages had done more damage than it had seemed.

A few moments later, Anya broke the settling silence in farewell, "Well, I have to go catch my plane back to London. Fortunetelling is a job that requires all of your time, so I need to get back as soon as I can. Are you really all right; nothing hurts too much?"

"My whole body aches, but other than that… nothing," Negi replied with a cheerful smile.

Anya sighed and prodded his left arm, seeing right through his facade. Negi cried out in pain and shock.

"Ahh… "Anya commented wisely, "You're still the same Negi: always crying, even over a little pain."

"I'm not crying!" Negi shouted in anger. _'Why does everyone always assume that I will cry at any little thing?' _he thought in annoyance recalling all the events in his life where his small figure earned him stares that made him feel like a doll someone might just decide to dress up at any given time.

Anya stared at him unconvinced, "It might just be me, but shedding water from your eyes is, in general, called crying… right?"

Negi wiped his eyes in response and pouted.

"Still the same, little Negi."

"We're the same age, Anya!" Negi shouted in anger.

She proceeded to ignore him. "The doctor said you'll have big bruise and that you were not to move your arm until he could prepare a cast for you. Luckily, nothing was broken but your arm was badly sprained and you'll still have to be careful of infection from those scratches you got. The grouchy medical expert thinks you won't have a scar, but you certainly deserve one with that stunt you pulled."

"Thank you for the report," Negi replied a little stiffly.

"Angry so easily, dear Negi?" Anya taunted, laughing at his indignant pout. With a final bout of laughter, she stood up. "I have to get going. Goodbye, Negi."

The weight leaving his bed was enough to get Negi out of his anger, reminding him of the immediateness of Anya's departure.

"Good luck with whatever you're doing and have a safe trip," Negi said from his bed.

Turning around with a genuine smile, Anya replied, "You too Negi."

She walked backwards to the door, with a hand raised in farewell.

Anya would have turned around and left right then and there had the door not opened just then, admitting a certain middle-aged man into the room. With a cry of surprise, Anya bumped into him and landed on the floor.

"Sorry, Anya-kun," the man apologized as he closed the door behind him.

Recognizing the man instantly, Negi and Anya exclaimed together in surprise, "Takamichi!"

Recovering first, Negi demanded with his best indignant tone, "Takamichi! Why are you here? Weren't you supposed to be watching over the class for me?"

Takahata smiled in response, "Why, Negi-kun, I still am." To his confused glower, he added, "They're here in Wales with me."

"What?!"

Takahata chuckled at his response and said, "It's that time of the year, Negi-kun; it's time for the annual school field trip and the girls decided they wanted to visit you and take a look around your hometown. You know there's no way to stop both Asuna-kun and Ayaka-kun combined." Takahata gave him a wink that Negi interpreted as supposedly reassuring but certainly did not make him feel that much better.

However, reassured or not, Negi couldn't ignore the manners that had been drilled into him. He managed to respond with an awkward smile of agreement before one of his swirling thoughts clicked into place. "Asuna-san was that worried about me? Iinchou-san I understand," Negi stated, referring to Ayaka's… exuberant 'helpfulness' regarding anything to do with the child teacher (and that was playing it down for Ayaka's sake), "but usually Asuna-san would do anything but agree with Iinchou-san. Unless… her life depended on it?"

"Takamichi," Anya interrupted curtly before Negi could be questioned on his comment. She glowered moodily at Takahata. At the same time, to Negi's eyes, a dark aura seemed to materialize around her, fueled by a sudden irritation that had not been apparent until that moment. "If you don't mind, I want to arrive at the airport before my plane leaves without me," she stated sweetly though her tone gave no doubt that her hidden message was, "GET OUT OF MY WAY OR I'LL MAKE YOU MOVE: WITH MAGIC IF I HAVE TO!"

Takahata was fortunately saved a polite but hasty retreat by the sudden opening of the door with a force that resulted in it being blown clean off its hinges. The source of the implosion was soon made clear as two teenage girls stepped quickly through… what remained of the door, neck to neck in their race to get into the room. With their clothes a mess – one more expensively inclined towards extravagant fashion and the other oppositely inclined towards comfortable function – the two girls managed to trip right in front of Takahata's feet. Along with their bodies came the threat of the airborne door. Reacting instantly, Takahata stopped the door with one hand and left it leaning against the wall with one smooth motion.

"Asuna-kun, Ayaka-kun," Takahata greeted with a smile and a subtle hint of shock underneath his calm exterior.

Negi and Anya were not so adept at controlling their emotion. Negi stared incoherently with jaw dropped at the dramatic appearance of the Class President and Baka Red who had collapsed onto the floor in exhaustion, their breaths coming quick and laborious.

Anya's reaction was much more noticeable… and irritated. She frowned down at them and, deciding time was short, calmly stepped over the two and left with a wave for Negi. Waving back in farewell, Negi then watched the amusing scene before him unfold predictably.

Asuna blushed with the color of the setting sun when she found Takahata attempting to hold the unhinged door steady against the wall. She immediately popped back up onto her feet, stammering a series of unintelligible stutters. Ayaka followed suit and jumped up. After quickly apologizing to Takahata, her charismatic nature took over. With a nonchalantly familiar manner, she greeted Negi pleasantly, and sat on the bed, pinning his legs beneath her weight. Flippant manner accompanying, she, who held the self-decreed right to apologize on behalf of the manner-less gorilla lying on the floor, did so.

At the insult, Asuna miraculously recovered from her loss of vocabulary and stated, "I have a name and it is Asuna, not gorilla you shota-con woman!"

As always, Negi tried to calm the two down, and as always, failed miserably as the tension escalated. Ayaka's voice soon switched from calm and polite (sensitive to Negi's presence) to a more arrogantly commanding tone, to which Asuna fought quite valiantly against with her own overbearing manner. As their fight went on, Negi felt a familiar thought tickle his mind.

Sometimes he wondered if the class president had that infamous split personality disorder. But alas, her medical records checked clear in the monthly report given to the teachers of Mahora. Linking to that thought was Negi's worry about a patient's confidentiality, but the principle had reassured with a cheerfully deceptive smile that catering to the physical needs of his students was just as important as teaching. Negi felt slightly horrified at the implications that cascaded through his mind at the innocent (at first glance) comment, but put it aside for a different time. There was a crisis on hand and Negi hoped to be out of it as soon as possible... but was there really anything he could do but sit and wait?

As his mind wandered, the two fighting girls had been over every inch of the room and with the bad fortune always accompanied their bickering they ended up near the entrance to the room where Takahata had just finished setting back the door into its frame. With one loud cry, the two girls slipped and fell through onto the closed door, which also unfortunately opened inwards. A loud crack announced the splintering end of the wooden door's short existence.

Negi winced.

A few minutes later, after Asuna and Ayaka apologized abashedly for their… behavior, Takahata escorted the two teenagers out the door. As they stepped over the slivers of wood shaving, they continued to glower at each other, no doubt blaming each other for the disaster once they were out of earshot of Negi.

With his room in shambles, Negi sighed in relief as the peacefulness of the room back into place. It didn't matter to him that the wrecked doorway was like an open wound on his privacy. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, allowing his head to sink into the fluffy pillows and resting his arms on the soft covers of the bed.

His eyes snapped open as something sharp jabbed into the palm of his right hand. Tears threatened to well but Negi was determined not to shed any of the liquid, even with no one immediately in the vicinity. Instead, he studied the object. It was a small crystal pendant. A small pointed crystal of sapphire color hung from one strand of braided string. Negi held it up to the light and found that a wrist band shaped strap was attached to the other end of the braided string. With sudden clarity, he recognized it as one of Anya's tools for scrying.

That meant she would be back pretty soon… Footsteps from the corridor announced visitors (he was the only guest on this floor of the hotel) and he looked up expectantly for Anya to come rushing into the room. To his surprise, his second visit that morning – or third counting Anya – came in the form of three more of his students.

The three members of Mahora Gakuen's Strolling Club reported in with smart salutes, each wearing the style of clothes the citizens of Wales preferred: a combination of slacks, hooded sweaters, and the more unconventional robes.

"Negi-sensei!" the Narutaki twins exclaimed together in greeting as Kaede added after them, "Negi-bouzu."

"Minna-san!" he greeted in reply but went straight to the point afterwards, "What are you doing here in Wales?"

"Ah," Kaede replied with a grin and a wink, "We were all worried about your long absence so we came here to see what your 'job' was about, de gozaru."

"And we also wanted to look around your hometown, Negi-sensei!" Fumika continued.

"That's right, Negi-sensei! Now that we're here, why don't you treat us to breakfast and a grand tour?" Fuuka suggested with such rapidity that Negi almost agreed without thinking.

He saved his dignity with the promise of dinner and taking the whole class on a tour on another day. Soon, they settled into a comfortable conversation about how Mahora had been without him there to teach.

"And then Asuna leapt clear out of her chair when Takahata-sensei congratulated her on translating a whole paragraph with only a couple of flaws!" Fumika exclaimed.

Fuuka took a turn at relating the story, adding to the tale with Negi smiling encouragement, "Even though Asuna has gotten over her rejection, she still acts so… randomly and embarrassingly around sensei."

Kaede nodded in agreement, "Habits can be hard to correct, even when the motivation for the behavior has ceased to exist."

"Wise word, Kaede-san," Negi praised and thanked the twins for the humorous tale.

"Now if you don't mind, I'd better get up and get dressed," Negi hinted, stretching and yawning loudly though he inwardly winced at the pain in his left arm.

He waited for his "guests" to leave. When nothing happened, he sighed and stated again that he needed to get out of bed. After a count to ten, he looked at Kaede and asked, "Would you please escort Fumika-san and Fuuka-san out of my room. I need my privacy."

Kaede winked and sighed, "You owe me one, Negi-bouzu." To Negi's amusement, relief, and embarrassment, the twins continued to complain as Kaede dragged them away with her incredible strength. A few lewd comments made his ears burn but he pointedly ignored them and decided to follow up on his excuse and actually get dressed.

He had just finished taking off his shirt when Anya burst into the room. In the process of taking it off, his shirt had muffled Anya's footsteps so her sudden appearance caught Negi totally unprepared. A moment of silence ensued before Anya got over Negi's embarrassment for him and ignored her own blush. With a hand, she demanded, "My dousing pendant, do you have it?"

Negi wordlessly handed her the pendant. Quite suddenly, a phone rang shocking Negi out of his reverie. Anya made a wordless gesture of annoyance and picked up the room's phone for Negi.

Negi hid a second blush as he pulled on a fresh shirt (with a good deal of pain from his sprained arm) as Anya muttered, "Yes… yes… What? Cancelled? This can't be true… no, I'm alright. Thanks for letting me know. Yes, goodbye."

Negi smoothed his new, clean, short sleeved shirt as Anya slammed the phone down. "Cancelled!" she exclaimed in anger, "They cancelled the flight! Do you know what this means?"

Negi shook his head despite knowing it was a rhetorical question.

"The Traveler Magi will be leaving without me!"

Negi mouthed an exclamation of silence which seemed to irritate Anya. "What are you being so mute for? And why did you change your shirt with that arm of yours. Hasn't the doctor come up yet?"

Negi shook his head. "No, he hasn't."

Anya sighed, "Then I'll make you a cast. Wait a second."

Closing her eyes in concentration, Anya started the first words of a spell. Negi blinked as a wave of magical energy washed out from her aura and a rainbow light appeared over his sprained arm. With light shimmering, it overlapped itself over and over again until it created a shell-shaped covering over his left arm from forearm to the elbow.

"Why didn't you just heal it?" Negi complained as the spell completed and the new weight brought his arm down sharply to his side, bringing another onrush of pain. "It would have been much more inconspicuous. What would my students say if they saw the cast? A few of them have already come up to visit me."

"That's your problem, Negi, not mine," Anya replied dejectedly. "It's not my fault you didn't study Healing Magic as much as I did."

Negi pouted and would have said more when certain vampire mage strode into the room… and she looked angry.

Negi shivered in fear as Evangeline stalked into the room, followed by the reticent robot, Chachamaru. He didn't know whether to be reassured when Chachamaru gave him a sympathetic smile (which, in her case, translates as a slight tilting of the mouth) or whether to be more immensely afraid of Evangeline's intents and purpose for visiting Negi.

He tried his best to build up courage and was just about to give a subdued but still cheerful greeting when she glared at him balefully, scoffing at his cast. That shut him up simple and quick.

Without sparing him a further glance, Negi's master in the magical arts looked Anya once over and demanded, "Tell me who you are or get out. The brat and I have something important to discuss and we don't need another brat in the room interrupting our conversation."

"Right, boya?" Evangeline added with an unconcealed threat when Negi tried to come to Anya's defense.

"Like recognizes like," Anya retorted despite the icy stare sent her way. To her credit, she sent one back with equal coldness spawned by an ignorance of her opponent.

Negi could read Anya's emotions clearly as the two women stared each other down. The morning in Wales was getting on her nerves despite the place being her home town. Now that the flight back to London was cancelled ,she had nowhere to go but back to Merdiana to look for another group of Traveler Magi that would accept her. _'Maybe Nekane one-chan will let her stay over for tonight,' _Negi pondered. His thoughts then decided to scatter as Anya took a threatening step forward.

"Anya…" Negi tried valiantly to warn his soon-to-be-deceased friend. He even dared to lay a hand on her, but none of the two formidable women would have it. Evangeline bared her fangs at Negi and Anya brushed off his hand coldly.

'_It was nice knowing you,'_ Negi mourned as Anya replied:

"My name is Anya and I don't really care what yours is; I'm having a bad day so if you would just get out of my way, I would gladly leave. But please step to one side and apologize for your insult."

Negi gaped in shock. Asking Dark Evangel to apologize was surefire way for a quick death. Only his apprenticeship had saved him that one time she had drained some of his blood in the middle of the night… but that was a tale for another time. He quickly looked at her master for what he hoped would be a, at most subdued, sign of bloodlust. _'There's no way I could be that lucky…'_

His innermost thoughts proved true as Evangeline grinned broadly and stated, "I take no orders and apologize to none, especially to a brat. In any case, your presence won't affect my plans for boya and he can't resist. He owes me more than enough as it is. Besides, all I have to do is snap and the sniveling coward will give me anything I want."

"I resent that," Negi interrupted. With his pride on the line, not even his great fear (though he knew she wouldn't hurt him, positive…! Right…) of his abusive master could let that comment slide.

"Silence, cur!" Evangeline snarled, "And that's master to you, apprentice!"

Over Negi's whimper, Anya inquired incredulously, "Master? A kid like you… Negi's master."

"It's not that far of a stretch if you remember that boya there is the teacher of a class of thirty. Besides, if you think I look my age then you really are a fool." Evangeline smiled confidently, her fangs gleaming in the slight sunlight.

"Master, it's thirty-one including yourself," Chachamaru interrupted quietly from her corner of the room earning her a threatening scowl. She looked to Negi in confusion for an explanation of Evangeline's reply to find him deep in thought.

'_Oh!'_ Negi thought in realization as he glimpsed Evangeline's fangs, _'That's where this irrational fear comes from. Tonight will be a full moon so naturally, Evangeline-san, er... master, will be leaking those fear inducing toxins that, strangely, only I can feel. That's right… just fear inducing toxins, that's all.'_

Anya took the hint, "A vampire… that would explain a lot. What it doesn't explain is your reason for being in school. I would've thought immortal life would have gotten you at least ten different majors by now, or even a rank as a Magister Magi. Living at an all girls' school, do you by any chance have problems with men?"

Evangeline accomplished a ten out of ten face-plant and walked away from it unscathed. "If you think I stayed in that hell of school your brains probably as small as your mouth is big. The title of 'one with male problems' goes to another in the class. What do you know about me anyways?"

"Nothing," Anya replied, "I just thought vampires were more inclined to actions than words."

"And I was just thinking the same thing," Evangeline grinned wickedly in reply, licking her lips. Negi watched in horror as Evangeline made the first move. She stepped to the side and folded her arms. "Well, are you going to leave or not? I've had just about enough of this useless trading of insults," she muttered crankily.

Before Anya could reply and Negi could die of shock, an interruption... interrupted. The interruption came in the form of a loud ringing. Anya glared at the room's phone but looked down at the machine in confusion when a dial tone greeted her ears. No one could place the ringing until an antenna sprouted from Chachamaru's head. She listened for a good three minutes before she answered in her strange monotone, "Yes, Hakase… I understand."

"Well?" Evangeline prompted unnecessarily in irritation annoyed at the sudden phone call from their resident 'mad' scientist.

"Hakase says…" Chachamaru started, pausing a moment before a click was heard and a voice came from within her metallic shell: _**"**Hurry up Eva-san, the whole class is waiting downstairs. I don't care if Negi-sensei's still sleeping, just hurry up with the operation. We're waiting. It really can't be that hard to yank Negi-sensei out of bed is it? From the reports of the other two groups, he was wearing enough to be considered decent, so speed up your pace! You volunteered for the job, you finish it. Hakase out…**"**_ the recording ended with another pause for Chachamaru's machinery… "is what she said, master."

Uncomfortable silence followed after in the morning destined to be uncomfortable and awkward in Negi's memory for years after… or so he assumed.

Evangeline cleared her throat and clarified, "The… others that came up before me kept on forgetting to drag you down here so… they sent me."

"You mean you volunteered," Negi reworded.

"Shut up brat! Just because you're a teacher doesn't mean I won't kill you!"

Negi nodded enthusiastically, happy that Evangeline was showing more initiative and a greater tolerance for group activities than ever before. His vigorous nodding made him miss Evangeline's blush. "Then we shouldn't keep them waiting, should we?" In his cheerfulness, he missed the looks passed between Evangeline and Anya.

As Negi cautiously sat up with his slowly recovering strength, something that had been bothering him suddenly formed into a question. Pulling his feet out of the covers of his bed, Negi asked, "Evangeline-san, how did you get all the way here to Wales?"

"That's master, boya," Evangeline hissed in reply. She looked as if she was about to leave the room without him but seemed to think better of it. "If you must know, I got on the same plane that zoo of a class rode."

As an afterthought, she added, "The old man's taken care of everything else that needs taking care of."

"But the barrier… the seal… the…" Negi stammered confusing Anya to no ends. "This is a school trip…" Negi managed to start and then added, "Does that means the Principal is stamping papers every five seconds until you get back? How long have you been in Wales?"

"We've already been here for two days; today's the only day we couldn't find you," Evangeline replied, humoring him. "You mysteriously disappeared for the past few days while we lingered here, waiting. I pity the old man, today's probably the tenth essay already."

Negi blinked in consternation, "Essay; isn't he stamping papers to deceive the spirits?"

"No," she replied simply, "he's writing hundred pagers on why I should be allowed to be here in Wales. He got around the stamping deal with a bit of your blood mixed with mine from the samples kept in the Nurse's office. I'd say he's probably over the one-hundred and seventy-two thousandth word mark by now. A word per second, boya, that's how much he needs to write."

"Eh!"

"If you two are going to stand here chatting the whole morning you might as well just stay here," Anya sighed, taking initiative in walking towards the door.

Evangeline smirked, "That's alright. The brat and I have unfinished business to take care of anyway."

"Master?" Negi questioned as Evangeline took casual steps towards him. Her arm suddenly snaked out and latched onto Negi's good arm and, with a vicious tug, drew him near.

"Eh!" Negi panicked, struggling violently against Evangeline's iron grip to no avail.

"What are you doing?!" Anya exclaimed in shock with a tone tinged with a hint of worry.

Evangeline flashed a smile in Anya's direction and went for the prize.

In one motion, she pushed Negi onto the bed in a sitting position, jumped onto the bed next to him, and bit into his arm.

The silence after was filled only by the noisy slurping that followed. Anya fell forward, stumbling. Chachamaru covered her face in a very human gesture. Negi sighed as Evangeline continued to suck out his blood.

"Poor Negi," Anya muttered as Evangeline slurped in silence, eyes closed in contentment.

"What do you mean?" Negi asked, resigned to his master's spontaneous behavior.

"You've been subdued by a vampire and a 'Fear-Inducing' spell has been cast on you. You're nothing but a blood farm if you haven't noticed by now."

"'Fear Inducing' spell!" Negi exclaimed. "Master… you told me that it was toxins you produced that only affected me because you've fed on my blood…"

Evangeline sucked up more blood in reply.

"Master!" Negi sobbed as more of his blood was drained away moment by moment. He was starting to feel light-headed and felt, more than saw the darkness at the corner of his vision.

Evangeline reluctantly stopped.

"That was a good feed," she commented, stretching reluctantly.

In mid-stretch, she froze as a click sounded out from the door. Likewise, Anya suddenly found herself frozen as the cold bite of steel from a sword touched her neck.

"One move out of any of you and I'll have to cut your life short."

**- To be Continued…**

**Author's Note: **A long chapter that I'll probably be revising a bunch of times in the near future. Unfortunately, most of the chapters will probably be about two thousand words shorter than this first. I apologize if any characters are out of character: Anya (because close to nothing is known about her), Negi (or his innermost thoughts), and/or Evangeline (for her attitude/mood swing persona due to a crankiness derived from withdrawal. It's too bad for Negi that his master has gotten addicted on his blood…).

Reviews are welcome, suggestions considered, flames ignored, and unreasonable demands for anything above my rating... hated and scorned, tossed into the fire to burn, **and that would still be too good for it.**


	2. Downstairs

**Disclaimer:** Negima! is not owned by anyone on unless said person is Ken Akamatsu in disguise… which translates to mean **ownership is not mine.** But… all OCs created by my words, taken from my ideas, and put onto paper are mine and only mine.

**Notes:**

"Speech."

'_Thoughts.'_

"**Spells."**

**In The Last Chapter:**_"Master!" Negi sobbed as more of his blood was drained away moment by moment. He was starting to feel light-headed and felt, more than saw the darkness at the corner of his vision._

_Evangeline reluctantly stopped._

"_That was a good feed," she commented, stretching reluctantly._

_In mid-stretch, she froze as a click sounded out from the door. Likewise, Anya suddenly found herself frozen as the cold bite of steel from a sword touched her neck._

"_One move out of any of you and I'll have to cut your life short." _

**- When we last left off,** Negi had finished his mission of capturing the three rogue mages Ansien, Sagio, and Risc. What should have been his morning of rest turned out to be anything but peaceful; due to the presence of his students, who had arrived in Wales two days before. In a twist of events, Anya, Negi's childhood friend, found herself stuck in Wales when she managed to miss her flight back to London.

Both to his dismay and to his happiness, his master, Evangeline McDowell decided to pay him a visit… and to arrogantly take a payment of his blood for her presence. However, their discussion was interrupted by two new threats…

**Termination of Spirit: Contract's Initiation**

**Chapter One: Downstairs**

Negi gulped as he stared down the deadly steel blade that had been pointed at him. Both the blade that was threatening him and the one that had Anya frozen like an icicle were held by a girl that Negi recognized. Hesitantly, he directed his question to the swordsman, "Setsuna-san… could you please put that thing down?"

"Sorry, sensei, she's under my contract. With all that's been going on since you've come, she's acquired an enormous debt that I'd like to see paid." The tall bounty hunter/priestess answered for the female swordsman, her pistol pointed at Evangeline. A second pistol appeared in her hand, aimed at Chachamaru when the robot crept up behind her.

Irritated at Mana's bluntness, Setsuna added, "Sorry Negi-sensei, she's getting paid for this."

"So you know these two?" Anya asked from her position under Setsuna's watchful gaze.

"They're my students," Negi replied with almost embarrassment.

"Enough of the chattering you two," Evangeline snapped, then directed her words to the threat, "Now explain your actions before you never have a chance again."

"Bold words for someone at my mercy," Mana replied with a smirk, her attentive perception never ignoring Chachamaru for a second. "To put it short, I'm being paid for your capture by Ms. Anonymous."

Setsuna gave her own input, "But I'm pretty sure you can guess who that is. Who's the only one who could satisfy such an extravagant price?"

Mana gave Setsuna an irritated scowl. In a fit of impatient temper, Anya interrupted with a question, "And what does this have to do with me?"

"A threat is a threat and must be dealt with, mage," Mana answered nonchalantly.

Her casual words had an immediately apparent effect on Anya who could only gape, openmouthed, and stammer, "You know about magic?"

Mana gave her a knowing grin, but before she could reply, Negi interrupted, "Sorry, Setsuna-san, Captain-Tatsumiya!"

The two could only be shocked at the apology and, before they knew it, the two girls were yelling in shock as orbs of lights flashed into being in front of their eyes. Their training managed to keep them from dropping their weapons but both brought their hands to their eyes as if they could remedy the pain of temporary blindness.

Their lack of attention gave the captives the ability to deal with their captors as easily as catching a ball: reflexive and easily done with training.

Chachamaru, careful of the black weapons still in her targets hands, maneuvered behind Mana's back. With a swift movement, she lashed out and grabbed Mana's arms, pinning them behind her newly captured captive's back. Even through blurry vision, Mana knew when she had been defeated and did not even need the threat of Evangeline's glowing palms to stop struggling.

Negi sighed in relief as the fighting ended as quickly as it had begun. While his master and student had dealt with the extremely dangerous gunslinger, Anya had also dispatched her own ex-captor. With a binding spell cast without an incantation, she chained Setsuna's hands together while she summoned a blade of wind. It didn't take a genius to know that Setsuna had lost as soon as the whisper of air touched her neck.

"Well, there goes your advantage," Evangeline smirked arrogantly. "Never thought boya was a threat, ne?"

Setsuna sighed in consternation. "What exactly happened?"

Always the gentleman, Negi explained enthusiastically for her benefit, "While everyone was talking, I realized that I was ignored. With that in mind, it wasn't that big of a stretch to assume the role of a distraction. Certainly, I didn't want a stalemate with all of us threatening each other at the same time… so I cast a spell without an incantation…"

"And I assume you're going to tell us just how we were humiliated now?" Mana jested.

With an air of seriousness, Negi replied, "Never to humiliate you, but it is rather uncomfortable have your life hanging by a thread." The last, he directed at Setsuna who gave the courtesy of looking ashamed.

"All I did was cast a simple spell. It's easier to show than to explain, so here:"

Holding out his good arm, his right arm, he steadily and clearly intoned, "Practe Bigi Nar Ardescat"!

From his palm came two faint orbs of light which circled in the air before heading to the ceiling. There, Negi let them hover before gradually filling the light with magical fuel. In a short time, they grew bright enough that the group's eyes were squinting.

"Now imagine the dim orbs increasing to this level in a split second and you'll have understood what I did."

Despite herself, Anya smiled at the simplicity of the spell. Negi shared her knowing smile and added to himself, _'What I hadn't mentioned was that it only worked because Setsuna-san and Captain-Tatsumiya don't have quite as… keen a sense of magic compared to Anya and Eva-san.'_

"So, what will you do with us now that we've been routed and the situation turned completely to your advantage; send us packing and back downstairs?" Mana asked as the leader of her two-man (or women) raiding party.

"Wait a moment," Anya said, her magical blade dissipating with an inaudible sigh, "I've been meaning to ask: why are you still, eh… human? Isn't it a rule that once your secret is exposed, you'll be turned into an ermine?"

Evangeline decided to humor her. "The 'Magic Society' isn't as extravagant as it's made out to be, and by no means are the old geezers omniscient. I wouldn't concern myself over something as trivial as his secret… which isn't much of a secret if you think about it, considering about a third of the class is in on it," Evangeline smirked.

With Anya staring him down with incredulous eyes, Negi managed to hold on to deadly pride a second longer before giving in to being sensible: having the decency to act sheepish. Then, simply put, the girls focused their attention elsewhere.

"About what to do with you two…" Evangeline started but Negi managed to raise his voice enough to be heard.

"Why don't we make a deal?" Evangeline snarled and glared at Negi for stealing her spotlight.

"A deal…" the three other girls stated, so swiftly giving him their undivided attention that Negi reeled back from the eyes centered on him. Fighting off a panicked blush, he continued with less stammering then would be expected form a flustered eleven year old, "Yes, a deal. I'll come with you downstairs as long as you don't threaten any of us: Eva-san, Anya, or me. We won't feel threatened and you'll still be paid."

"So it's Eva-san now, boya?" Evangeline inquired with amusement. With a sharp rap of her knuckles on his head, she corrected, "That's Master to you, oh lowly apprentice! And who gave you the permission to speak for your elders?"

"Hai, hai," Negi muttered in apology, rubbing his head sullenly as Setsuna voiced her positive opinion on the 'deal.'

"Then you have a deal, Negi-sensei," Mana gave a wolfish grin. "Now would you please release your humble captives? My arms are starting to ache, Chachamaru-san."

"My apologies," the robot replied and let go of Mana's wrists… with Evangeline's approval of course.

Only after Anya released Setsuna's bonds and Mana headed for the hallway did Evangeline relax. A defeated pride was ten times as deadly as taste for revenge. She sighed in disbelief that she had resorted to taking orders from her apprentice of all people! He didn't necessarily word it as an order, but she did not restrain herself when the others disappeared from sight.

To her ears, though her companions were hidden from view, she recognized the bubbly voice that greeted the group as Konoka's. She smiled despite herself when Konoka emphatically decided to take Negi's injuries in her own hands and felt the slightly tingling sensation that came with a mage's use of magic.

A tiny smile produced from relieving her impatience, unnoticed by any hidden spectators lit her face and offered a hint of her lightened mood. Nothing contradicted the assumption… not even the tattered remains of a doorway dared collapse, therefore making a sound and incurring the wrath of the vampire mage.

An ominous click brought a smile to a certain journalist's face. Heard only by the source of the noise, Asakura herself, none of the other students were aware that every word, gesture, and expression they showed would be forever documented by the sly but undisputedly talented journalist.

Asakura suppressed a giggle of pure glee – she settled for a smile that sent shivers down the spines of those who noticed – as the conversation turned to interesting little Negi:

Ayaka paced restlessly around the room while Chao and Satsuki cooked with portable stoves. With all the upgrades she had added to the machines, Hakase kept an eye out for malfunctioning equipment just in case. Like always, Ku Fei served as taste tester along with the twins and Kaede who had just missed their midday meal. Chizuru and Natsumi lounged on a sofa opposite the steaming food with Kotarou uncomfortably sitting with them. Chizuru's arm rest squirmed uncomfortably as he impatiently waited for his rival to come down the stairs.

Asakura grinned as she felt, more than saw, Sayo settle down next to her in an unoccupied seat. Makie also chose to sit next to the journalist unaware of the chaos such close proximity could ensue.

Asuna shivered in apprehension from where she sat with the Library Trio. Behind them grumbled and sighed a certain student who had grudgingly admitted that her class was full of weird misfits. That acknowledgement didn't stop her trying very hard to ignore them – not succeeding in the slightest though her nose almost touched her laptop's screen. As expected, the sheer size of their group attracted curious looks from the hotel's guests.

Continuing her pacing, Ayaka complained, "Why haven't they come down yet? I doubt that those ruffians are treating my poor Negi-sensei with delicacy and tenderness. He's only an eleven year old boy!"

"You shouldn't worry so much, Iinchou. They'll be down any second now," Chao tried to reassure her, waving steam away from her face.

Hakase adjusted the steam valve and added with a pondering look, "Although Eva-chan did seem rather… eager when she volunteered for the job."

Natsumi exclaimed in surprise, "Eh! You could tell? Eva-chan never seems to not have any emotions… it's rather scary."

"There you go jumping to conclusions again, Natsumi," Chizuru admonished with her free hand patting Natsumi on the head. Kotarou growled warningly as Chizuru's headlock tightened with her movement.

Ignoring all other comments, Ayaka fantasized yet again. "Oh, my poor Negi-sensei! He must be shaking in fear by now, surrounded by barbarians and it must be fate that I, Ayaka Yukihiro, Class President of 3-A, have been chosen to save, comfort, and hold him in my bosom… tenderly."

As a spectator that did not want any part in what she felt was sure to be an argument, Asuna commented to her companions, "Is it really alright to call your own classmates barbarians? And what does being Class President have anything to do with… anything?"

Yue shrugged in reply with Nodoka tilting her head with the same meaning. They obviously didn't know either.

Kaede suggested in an effort to calm the ranting woman down, "Now, now, Iinchou; maybe we should take a more practical approach and wait for them to come down, de gozaru."

Ayaka retorted with a reprimanding tone "But Kaede-san, you don't understand! Because you didn't bring Negi-sensei down – as was your job – every minute they take is costing the Ayaka Foundation a fortune!"

In an ominous tone, she added "Do you know how much it takes to satisfy that Tatsumiya's extravagant demands?"

Then, the reporter herself stepped in, "But Iinchou-san, the Ayaka Foundation doesn't exist yet… does it?"

"Well… I… I'm planning – was planning – to start it up this year," Ayaka stammered, aware of how weak her excuse was.

Asakura would have none of that and lectured: "That's beside the point. As I recall, Iinchou-san and Asuna-san were the first two on the job _(Asuna: "Hey! Don't drag me into this!")_. In fact, you volunteered most exuberantly, bringing some suspicions to mind. You shouldn't blame Kaede-san for your own shortcomings, Iinchou-san."

Comfortably (and safely) from her couch, Haruna muttered with a grin, "Harsh…"

"Whose side are you on; no wait, I thought the good journalist doesn't take sides?" Ayaka stuttered, mind racing for something to use to defend her position as a woman with Negi's interests to heart.

But her chances looked rather slim as Asakura's fanatic side took over. "That's right, a good journalist doesn't take sides, but that rule only applies to school where everyone is a fair target. Out here in the wide, wide world, no journalist cares about those they write about. But the side I'm taking now is not anyone's side but my own. It is my duty as a journalist of justice to uncover any secret and expose them with judgment's wrath!"

Fuuka, Fumika, and Makie 'oohed and awed' at the speech, giving respectfully claps. Unseen by everyone except for Asakura, Sayo gave the journalist a grin and thumbs up.

Set in her determination, Ayaka remained unfazed though she felt the probability of her victory growing smaller and smaller. "Bold words… bold words indeed but can you keep them?"

With her infamous grin, a reply all on its own, Asakura challenged, "Bring it on, rich girl!"

As the two girls started a staring contest, Yue asked, "Aren't most of the fights usually between Asuna-san and Iinchou?"

Nodoka offered a timid confirmation, wary of Asuna tilting her ear towards their direction. There was a saying that said, no matter how much you mutter, mumble, drop your voice, or all things secret, a person can hear their own name (or the name of the person they love) if they're in the same room.

Yue pointed to the glaring journalist and class president, "Then how did it get to this?"

Rubbing her eyes, tired from close proximity to a computer screen, Chisame bit out under her breath, "It's because the lot of you are lunatics with no sense of normalcy!"

Before the good-natured glaring turned into ill-natured pummeling, the sliding doors of the hotel opened to admit three grinning girls, the cheerleaders.

Madoka, Misa, and Sakurako waved their hands, shopping bags and all and called out in unison, "We're back!"

From their shopping bags, they offered the group juice cartons of a rather… infamous brand.

"I didn't know they had tomato-milk here in Wales too," Yue commented in something akin to delight.

Managing to squirm out form under Chizuru's iron-like grip, Kotarou snapped, "And I'm getting sick of your bickering! Just shut up and go get Negi!" His patience had been snapped in half, shredded, and then ripped into a thousand pieces.

With a wolfish growl, he smacked away the carton of juice offered him and sent it flying into the air, looming larger and larger from the camera's point of view. Then, with a sickening splash, the carton rammed into the security device, exploded, and short-circuited it.

'_And that's where the life of the poor security camera ends…' _Asakura sighed while she helped clean up what remained of the security camera while Kotarou wrestled with Chizuru's glare of death in the background. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found her recording device a little worse for wear but intact.

Ayaka, as usual, used her wealth to clear up the situation and all was as calm as a hotel housing those particular students could be.

All the motion stopped to a chime that came from the elevator. As the doors opened, a voice called out, "_Wee're baaack!_"

"Konoka-chan," Asuna greeted as Konoka led the long awaited arrival of the teenagers from the slightly crowded elevator.

Ayaka choked back a cry of, "Finally!" and instead rushed forward to greet the group.

"Negi-sensei! How have you been? They treated you alright didn't they?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Setsuna muttered while Negi reassured the enthusiastic girl that he was quite fine. She didn't have any more time to ponder the hidden insult in Ayaka's words as she was pulled to the side by Asuna.

"What happened?" Asuna asked Konoka and Setsuna anxiously, "You've been gone a whole half hour!"

"Lots of things happened…" Konoka said vaguely.

"Business," Setsuna relied stoically though she longed to sigh in relief that the whole 'ordeal,' as she thought of it, was over.

Kotarou ignored Ayaka and pushed her to the side, challenging a surprised Negi to another duel. He was refused, but they settled on a day after they went back to Japan. Meanwhile, Evangeline and Chachamaru had repositioned themselves on a two-person couch next to Hakase's machines.

Ayaka, aware of how much Negi enjoyed Kotarou's chatter planned her revenge for another time and dealt with business. Off to the side, Ayaka handed Mana her payment in the form of a check. It had not escaped her notice, however, that the other students had managed to corner Negi with questions nor was the presence of the girl next to him ignored.

"Please calm down, minna-san!" Negi pleaded as the mosaic of voices threatened to give him a mind-splitting migraine. To his credit, his students calmed down enough that he could hear his own voice.

"Surprised to see us, sensei?" Negi managed to hear over the subdued but still noisy chatter filling his ears.

"Yes, I am," he replied blatantly, silencing the crowd. Understanding that his next words could affect his very future, – or lack of one – Negi added, "But it's a pleasant surprise!"

That was the cue for the students to start clamoring again, but Negi had had enough. Raising his voice, he demanded, "Please be quiet! You're disturbing the guests and hotel staff."

Those said guests and hotel staff who heard nodded emphatically in agreement and cheered silently when the students obeyed and the din died down.

"Where is the rest of the class?" Negi asked pleasantly as his students whispered to each other in embarrassment.

To his surprise, timid Natsumi replied, "They went to the woods. Ako-san, Akira-san, Yuna-san, Misora-san for hiking, but I don't know why Zazie-san went."

"Thank you Natsumi-san," Negi smiled sending the girl back to Chizuru, stuttering a "no problem…"

"So… I presume you've all stayed here to wait for me?" Negi asked the girls.

To their nods, he added, "I'm flattered."

He rubbed his head in embarrassment, unsure of what else to say. He was saved the headache when Ayaka asked a question she had been holding in for awhile, "Uh… Negi-sensei? May I ask who your… friend is?"

"Friend?" Negi repeated not understanding until he followed Ayaka's gaze to Anya who had been tapping her fingers impatiently on her arm for awhile. "Oh!" Negi exclaimed in embarrassment, "I haven't introduced her yet. Everyone, this is Anya, my childhood friend. Anya, this is Class 3-A."

Anya pointedly ignored Negi but bowed in the Japanese way of greeting nonetheless. "Nice to meet you all," she said with a genuine smile.

After the pleasantries were over, Anya said her goodbyes and coldly whispered to Negi, "I'm going to go to Nekane onee-chan's house. I would have left earlier if you hadn't gotten me into this whole mess, so fork up the money for a bus ride."

Negi gladly obeyed, shuddering after she left at the subtle threat in her tired voice. She had always been demanding, and even bossy Negi admitted.

Further thought was dispelled as the twins leapt up from their seats and shouted, "Negi-sensei, give us a tour of Wales!"

"Eh? But… you've already been here two days! Haven't you already seen the famous places?"

"I'm not sure you can count old buildings as famous, Negi-sensei, but looking at all those places was what got us lost in the first place," Yue replied blatantly.

"Um… if… if Negi-sensei were to… escort us, we probably won't get lost again," Nodoka said.

With more confidence in her voice, Haruna finished up, "So why don't we get moving, Negi-bouzu! Let's go on a tour!"

The Library Trio's words were followed by loud cheering. Predictably, the hotel manager had had enough and shouted, "Just hurry up and go! You're disturbing public peace!" And frankly, Chisame agreed with him.

Outside the hotel, the girls scattered around the buildings small parking lot, badgering Ayaka to call for her limos. Negi found his smile slip off his face as he was pulled away from his students and quite suddenly found himself in a dark alley.

He prepared himself to fight off his kidnapper when a feminine voice broke his concentration, "Relax Negi-bouzu, it's just me."

"Chao-san!" Negi exclaimed once he had gotten a clear look at her.

Urgently, Chao said, "Yes, but we don't have much time, Negi-bouzu. Iinchou-san is going to come looking for you soon, so I need your attention please!"

"You have it," Negi replied gentleman-like.

"You do remember our deal, right?"

"The deal… where I help you find magical components in exchange for your presence here in the 'past;' the components you need to complete the magic charger needed to gather the vast amount of magic needed to operate the future-jumping Cassiopeia and also to finish its repairs?"

"Yes, Negi, but there's no need to explain it in that much detail, much less indirectly quoting me. Its not like anyone is listening to our conversation," she admonished gently.

"Alright, Chao-san. Do you mean to tell me that some of these components are in Wales?"

Chao grinned, "Bingo!"

"I'll tell you more later,"she continued as she heard cries demanding Negi's presence. "If Asuna-san finds you here with me she'll think the worst and will probably come after me with that giant fan of hers." Chao grinned at her jest and pushed Negi into view.

"There you are," Asuna said, shouting to let the others know that their teacher had been found. "Don't just disappear on us. I thought you had been kidnapped!"

"Thanks for worrying about me, Asuna-san, but no one can kidnap me here in Wales. There are too many magicians here," Negi reassured her confidently.

As the rest of his students spotted them from afar, he added quickly for her benefit, "The wilderness behind Wales is where Merdiana Magic Academy is located." Then, he waved to his class and apologized for disappearing.

Negi followed the path cleared by his students in the streets, leaving Asuna in their wake, dealing with the thought that Negi's old school was somewhere in the forest she saw expanding to the horizon.

**- To be Continued…**

**Author's Note: **It's not really a cliff-hanger but I felt that I should end here. The only two troubles I had writing this chapter was managing to fit all thirty-one students in one form or another and the long dialogue. I'm a person more fit to writing action… and so I apologize if it was a bit on the boring side but unfortunately, the beginning is almost always the boring character development or discussing the events that came before story's place in time. On the other hand, it is fortunate that there are some exceptions to this rule but my story is certainly not one of these rare gems. If it worked for me, I would use it, but… I'm just rambling now.

Reviews are welcome, suggestions considered, flames ignored, and unreasonable demands for anything above my rating... hated and scorned, tossed into the fire to burn, **and that would still be too good for it.**


	3. A Wraith's Greeting

**Disclaimer:** Negima! is not owned by anyone on unless said person is Ken Akamatsu in disguise… which translates to mean **ownership is not mine.** But… all OCs created by my words, taken from my ideas, and put onto paper are mine and only mine.

**Notes:**

"Speech."

'_Thoughts.'_

"**Spells."**

**In The Last Chapter:**_"There you are," Asuna said, shouting to let the others know that their teacher had been found. "Don't just disappear on us. I thought you had been kidnapped!"_

"_Thanks for worrying about me, Asuna-san, but no one can kidnap me here in Wales. There are too many magicians here," Negi reassured her confidently._

_As the rest of his students spotted them from afar, he added quickly for her benefit, "The wilderness behind Wales is where Merdiana Magic Academy is located." Then, he waved to his class and apologized for disappearing._

_Negi followed the path cleared by his students in the streets, leaving Asuna in their wake, dealing with the thought that Negi's old school was somewhere in the forest she saw expanding to the horizon._

**- When we last left off,** Negi, Anya, and Evangeline had quickly dealt with Ayaka's two person team with the job of bringing Negi downstairs with the only rule being Negi's safety. Arriving downstairs, Negi found most of his class waiting for him while the few stragglers had all left for the woods in Wales. Once outside the hotel, Negi found himself pulled into a conversation with Chao as she reminds him of the deal they made (to her advantage) which would allow her to stay on in her past, the present.

Meanwhile, Anya tires of following Negi around and leaves, telling him that she would be at Nekane's house, where Negi once lived. The thought was soon forgotten, however, when a new predicament befell Negi and his students…

**Termination of Spirit: Contract's Initiation**

**Chapter Three: A Wraith's Greeting**

"Where are we going?" Negi dared to ask after a few minutes of walking. The surrounding felt rather strange at the moment, though he recognized a few of the buildings he passed. He had a suspicion of where they were but he didn't want it confirmed.

"What do you mean?" Ayaka asked.

Makie stated, "We were just following you."

Negi then started to panic, "But… But I was following you guys!"

"Does that mean we're lost?" Fumika exclaimed, some of Negi's panic infecting her.

"No, no, we're not lost," Negi reassured as mutters broke out among the group of twenty or so girls. "I know where we are." Ayaka nodded with a skeptical look, but she shrugged her suspicions off; she didn't want to risk a fight with her 'adorable' teacher.

In his thoughts, he added, _'I just wish we weren't.'_

Asuna had some doubts about his reliability and asked, "Are you sure, Negi-bouzu?"

"Of course I am, Asuna-san," Negi replied irritably. _'He'll be here any second now…'_

"Oi, Negi, I'm talking to you. Don't space out all of a sudden."

"I told you, I'm sure that I know where we are," Negi asserted more forcefully. "This is Wales, Asuna-san. This is where I grew up; of course I know where we are."

"Where are the limos, by the way?" he added in an effort to change the subject.

"There were some problems with their engines so they're waiting at the place we camped at."

'_Camped at?' _Negi pondered but a sudden noise brought his mind away from the thought.

Sensing Negi's nervousness in the way his eyes darted back and forth and his hands curled in fists, Asuna tried to be more tactful, "Whatever you say, but is something wrong?"

Right on cue, several screams brought their attention to their surroundings. Asuna tensed at the sudden appearance of several masked youths who had surrounded them. On the other hand, Negi remained impassive, only his eye's twitching revealing a nervous anxiety.

Several choruses of "Negi-sensei!" arose when the threatening figures closed in on them. Several of the more athletic students dropped into fighting stances while the more vulnerable huddled in the middle. Negi quickly found himself behind Ayaka and Asuna and smiled to himself despite his inward sighs.

Just as the crowd of students pressed in uncomfortably close, one of the youths, who was apparently their leader, lifted his mask and cried out, "Oi, Negi; you in there somewhere? I can't see you when your harem is crowding around you."

Varying degrees of blushes crept up the girls' necks at his words. Asuna raged at the blunt implication and decided to teach this boy a lesson. The thirteen year old didn't look quite as intimidating without his mask on. To her surprise, Negi stepped out from around her and gave a weak smile.

"Egare… I didn't know you spoke Japanese?"

Egare gave him a quizzical look and replied, "What other language would these foreigners understand? I'm just surprised you're with these ladies?"

By then, most of the other masked youths had followed their leader's example and taken off their masks revealing a mixture of genders. Though Kaede, Ku Fei, and Chao dropped their hands to their sides, several of the youths were almost quivering under Mana's cold gaze and her twin pistols that had managed to fly into her hands at a moment's notice… again.

Ayaka was also not ready to put her trust in people who, in her mind, had threatened her beloved teacher. That thought started a chain reaction so that she remained motionless, caught up in her fantasies, when Asuna strode up arrogantly and demanded, "Negi, who are these people?"

"Asuna-san, be a little more polite!" Negi reprimanded, his eye darting to see how Egare would take Asuna's callous manners.

"Don't worry, Negi," Egare interrupted, startling Negi, "I'd be pleased to introduce the gang, former classmates of Negi, to your friend. On behalf of the Wraiths, it's nice to meet you, Miss…"

"Asuna Kagurazaki," Asuna supplied almost imperiously though pleasantly surprised at the boy's manners.

"Kagurazaki-san," Egare confirmed in his fluent command of Japanese.

"I present to you, the Wraiths," he concluded with a flourish and bow. Before Asuna could reply, he straightened up and added, "But I'm forgetting my manners."

To Negi, he said, "Will you join us at our base for some rest? But some of your company look tired so I don't think you should bring them all the way into the forest. I don't know what brings you here, but you're welcome with us."

Asuna saw that Negi still felt uneasy for reasons that Asuna did not understand, so she was about to refuse when Negi gave him a grateful smile and replied, "Thank you, Egare; I'm sure they'd be grateful."

Then, to his students, "Class, I'll be stopping here for awhile so maybe you should go back to wherever you're staying by yourself."

At his words, there was a chorus of acknowledgement and most of them left, pulling Ayaka with them. Asuna stared at Negi so hard that he squirmed, growling under her breath with only one thought on her mind, _'If you're so uncomfortable, why don't you just say so and go!?"_

However, Negi's friend beat her to speaking once again.

"Class?" Egare inquired almost slyly, "So… these are your students, Negi?"

In a whisper, he added, "Care to introduce me to your partners?"

"Eh!" Negi exclaimed with a mild blush. "How did-"

"How did I know?" Egare interrupted. "Your exploits have been spread around our school in the past half year after your face was seen on the net. Runner up for the famous Mahora Fighting Tournament; I never would have guessed our Negi would accomplish such a feat! But here I am, talking away the day, let's go to the base, shall we?"

"Please excuse me for a second; I need to clear things up with my class," Negi said.

Egare gave a mock sigh and a grin and waited as, under Asuna's gaze, he headed towards the drifters of the class; Setsuna and Konoka waited along with Kaede, Ku Fei, the twins, and the Library Trio.

"Negi-sensei, Negi-sensei!" the twins exclaimed excitedly. "Who are all these masked people?"

"Weren't you listening?" Setsuna asked exasperatedly but with a grin to dull the edge of what could be taken as an insult. "Those people call themselves the Wraiths; they're probably a gang Negi knows."

Negi winced at 'knows,' but nodded in agreement nonetheless.

"So," Kaede began in her calm steady tone, but Ku Fei interrupted impatiently

In a noticeably quicker voice, she asked, "Where do we go now, Negi-bouzu?"

"Excuse me everyone," Negi apologized, "but will you please head back to where you're staying?"

"Eh, but Negi-sensei," Nodoka started. She had wanted to stay with her teacher a bit longer.

"Sorry, Nodoka-san, but can everyone please go back. I have a few things to catch up with my… friend."

Yue and Haruna shared a look at his slight hesitation before saying friend, but didn't protest when Kaede and Ku Fei herded the rest of them after the main group of students who had already left. Amidst a bout of farewells, Asuna stayed behind.

"Negi…" she started quickly, but her lecture was cut off when Negi gave her a smile that brought a queasy feeling to her stomach.

He said, "Don't worry about me, Asuna-san. Go with the others and take a rest. Today must have been tiring for you though it is still so early." Negi then nodded complacently to Egare and followed the boy into the woods.

Asuna stood staring after he was lost to sight in a fit of confusion, anger, and resignation. She sighed, spun around, and ran after the rest of her class.

To some snacks spread out on the table of the Wraith's base, Negi studied the place silently. It hadn't changed much since he had last been there: grey walls adorned with posters containing scenes of some of the more famous magicians (to his amusement, Takahata and Nagi were included) and also a few depicting the Wraith's achievements. Several other members of the gang, numbering twenty-one in all, were also enjoying some refreshments provided by one of their members who aspired to be a cook.

The base was located nearby Merdiana and was actually partly a cave. With gathered funds, the gang and paid for some construction and structural support to be added and eventually, the place expanded to a complex with a large main room, kitchen, necessities, and various smaller rooms for storage and miscellaneous purposes.

Negi pulled himself from his observations and decide to go right to the point, "Egare… why are you being so nice to me?"

Egare didn't try to pretend that he misunderstood or that he didn't know what Negi was talking about. Instead, he composed his thoughts for a second and then replied:

"I think, if I was still who I was, I'd say something condescending like, 'You've finally noticed?' Negi, I've changed and I realize how mean we were to you back then. I'm sorry that I didn't notice how much I hurt you. To tell you the truth, I was jealous that you were able to graduate so early. I'm still a little jealous now."

"You were jealous, Egare?"

"Why, don't believe the words of an ex-bully?" he asked back jokingly.

"It's just… all that just because of jealousy?" A flash of miserable memories swept through Negi's mind at the question.

"Jealousy is an extremely powerful human emotion, Negi. Yet that's not all that… tempted me. You never joined in the gang's activities, always off practicing magic somewhere or on your own studying. I understand now that your motivation came from your goal of finding your father, but back then it seemed like you scorned our slower progress. It felt like you were acting all high and mighty with condescension for our very existence."

Negi didn't allow any emotion to grace his face, no outrage, sadness, pain, or bitterness.

Egare took a deep breath, "I speak on behalf of everyone when I say we're sorry Negi; will you please forgive us?"

A moment passed before a magnificent grin belied Negi's grim silence and he said, "Of course I will, Egare. I always wanted to be accepted, but my studies had prevented me from doing so. I apologize for any insult, intended or not."

"A perfect gentleman," one of the eavesdropping Wraiths whispered to his friend who nodded with a grin.

Negi then added sheepishly, "To tell the truth, I was a bit jealous of you too."

"Jealous? You? And of me of all people?"

Negi nodded. "You were always so charismatic. Everyone looked up to you with admiration and respect."

Egare laughed at that and patted Negi on the back. "Negi, you don't need to envy me of charisma. I am sure you will be very charismatic when you grow a little older."

"But…" Negi said, "I don't feel like that will ever happen, Egare. My students don't listen to me half the time!"

"Don't worry! Let me tell you a secret: charisma is natural. Everyone has it, some more than others, but whatever charisma really is, it is not what you're thinking right now. It's not a force that attracts others to you, but on the contrary, it is a force that attracts you to others.

"Just be yourself and you'll soon find yourself with many good friends. Just be yourself, and you'll find that your manners and small deeds will make all the difference. A polite nod, a cheerful greeting, a helping hand; if all those things come from the heart then you're on the right track. How are you going to make friends if you don't approach them?"

Negi wasn't sure he understood the whole thing but nodded at the gist of it.

"Now let's stop talking about these things, it makes me feel old and I'm only a few years older than you. Tell me, how have you been?"

Negi warmed up to his old classmates – who listened from various positions in the room – gradually over their long talk about Negi's experience at Mahora. Eventually, the topic was brought to more recent events and Egare's mood darkened at Negi's tale of how he captured the rogue mages.

"I know that Sagio. He attended our school recently and always seemed to stand out. There was always a trace of magic about him, even when he wasn't using any and none of the teachers seemed to mind. Though he seemed clumsy, I think that was all an act to catch people off guard. I almost forgot to be surprised when he ran away with those dark magic books and injuring the two teachers. I had noticed before that he liked hanging around the library in his free time but…" here, he trailed off with a shrug.

Purposely changing the topic, he asked, "How are you feeling after your tumble?"

"Better than expected," Negi replied. "Konoka-san, that is, Konoe-san, healed up my sprained arm pretty quickly. I'm a bit relieved that she has such an amazing ability."

Egare nodded at that, having learned about Negi's partners from the story he had heard.

"To think, I would have been stuck with a bright orange cast that has who-knows-what in it."

An arced brow instigated Negi to add, "We're dealing with Anya here, who knows what she made it with?"

"Anya!" Egare exclaimed, his eyes darting around the room as if the girl was there in the room right there with them. Negi nodded in confusion to a few laughs around the room. He fell silent almost immediately after and despite Negi's best attempts, wouldn't move. He stared through Negi into the wall with a fear so great that he was petrified.

One of the Wraiths leaned over from their table and told Negi, "He's been like that ever since that day Anya caught him using magic to switch their names on one of the finals from the year you two graduated."

A chorus of laughter followed his announcement. The tale of how Anya chased Egare with a variety of creative curses seemed to pull said target out of his daze. He muttered sulkily about dissenting followers and irritably beckoned Negi to follow him as he rose. Still laughing from the little tidbit of information, Negi followed Egare outside.

"Sorry for keeping you so long, Negi," Egare apologized outside.

"That's no problem," Negi reassured, "It's only three."

Then, he offered a hand to his new friend.

Egare took it, shook it, and proceeded to wave farewell, but Negi had not taken more than a few steps when he was stopped.

"Hey Negi, chew on this idea tonight. Why don't you come over tomorrow and join our clan for a fight? Tomorrow, we're facing off against one of the upperclassmen gangs."

"Upperclassmen?" Negi asked incredulously.

"Oh, that's right. I haven't told you yet: the teachers have created several gangs (some even participate) because they think that the fights would be good practice for the students. Life has gotten much more interesting now that there are more people to face off. Also, the school is offering extra-credit and prizes to winning gangs. I'm sure we could use your help!"

As much as Negi wished he could participate, he refused, "Sorry, Egare. I promised my students I would spend the day with them tomorrow. Besides, you have school in the morning and I'll be on the plane by noon."

"Eh, you're leaving that early?"

"Sorry, Egare," Negi sincerely apologized again.

"Don't sweat it. Just make sure you come back and visit us in the summer!"

Negi lifted a hand and waved as acknowledgement and headed towards the city.

Out of sight of the base, he smiled to himself. _'Who knew I would be able to clear all that up coming back so briefly to Wales.'_

A rustling shattered his thoughts as a large figure dropped from a tree. Negi had his arms in front of him immediately, defensively sheltering his body with magic.

When nothing appeared from the brush that the figure had dropped into, he tilted his head quizzically.

"No need to be that tense, Negi-sensei," a voice suddenly spoke from behind him.

He whirled to come face to face with a buttoned up jacket. Tilting his head up, Negi sighed to himself in relief to see Mana's face.

"What are you doing here, Captain-Tatsumiya?"

Mana chuckled at his awkward salute and replied, "I have a message from Evangeline."

'_Master?' _Negi thought, but instead asked, "And where is Evangeline-san?"

"She said something about joining those few who went hiking. I think she also mentioned something about bringing them to the camp at around six."

"Thanks Captain," Negi saluted again, with a more precise angle.

At his antics, Mana laughed again, "No problem Negi-sensei, no problem at all."

Just as she disappeared back into the forest, Negi felt himself pulled suddenly behind a tree.

"Chao-san! Why do you keep sneaking up on me like this?" he shouted when the hood was pulled back from his kidnapper's face.

Chao playfully replied, "Why else?"

"To scare me to death?" Negi supplied sarcastically.

"Of course not, Negi-boya," Chao corrected with a chuckle, "Asuna-san is much more observant than you think, especially now that she admits to herself that she worries over you. Isn't it the role of an elder sister to watch out for their siblings?"

"Chao-san!" Negi hissed in embarrassment.

She laughed again at his reaction and said, "Don't deny the truth, Negi-boya. It's not good for the mind."

Then, she grew more serious. "Actually, Negi-sensei, I need to talk to you about our deal again."

Negi sighed, "I know, I know, I'll look in the forests."

"Yes, do so, but I want to warn you of the dangers. The Guardians protecting the Deity Stone and Demon Stone are powerful, even by the future's standards."

"Deity Stone? Demon Stone? Guardians? What are you talking about, Chao-san, and what do you mean by the future's standards?"

"All in good time, Negi, all in good time." When Chao realized that her words weren't reassuring, she added, "What I want to remind you is that tomorrow is our last day here in Wales. I'm planning on heading to the caverns behind Merdiana where I'm sure you and your friends used to play in as a kid. The Stones should be in their, further in than where your childhood games dared venture."

"And you want my help…" Negi deadpanned.

"Precisely," she said with a smile. "Your partners and their wide diversity of skills would also be a welcome addition to the quest."

"I don't plan on putting anyone else in danger," Negi stated bluntly. "I want to know exactly who else you're bringing in there with you."

Chao grimaced at his foresight and conceded three names, "I was planning on asking Ku Fei-chan, Kaede-san, and paying Mana-san for her services. Satsuki-san will be our lookout and won't be in any danger."

"Chao-san!" Negi sighed, "I don't want to endanger anyone else. You have my word that I'll come, but I'm reluctant to bring anyone other than Asuna-san."

"I'm not going to force you, Negi, but the more people with us, the less dangerous the monsters inside will pose."

"Monsters?" Negi gulped but nodded nevertheless.

Chao rubbed his head in reply and said, "How brave, Negi-sensei. I'm curious though; why are you willing to bring Asuna-san and not the others?"

Here, Negi replied sheepishly, "She can take care of herself… adequately, and would probably get mad if she found out I did something dangerous without her."

"Again," Chao grinned.

"Again," Negi conceded with a smile he couldn't quite contain.

It was only after Chao had left him behind when Negi realized two things: he had agreed to something quite foolish that might even get him killed, and that it was getting quite late.

Disregarding the fact that he might be seen, he hopped onto his staff and rose out of the forest. Instead of heading to the city, however, he went in the opposite direction and went further in…

"Anya's going to kill me!"

**- To be Continued…**

**Author's Note: **I realize that Anya's farewell to Negi was not included in the last chapter so I apologize for that. When I rewrite this story, I will change that if I remember. For now, just read the backstory and for that bit of information. I also apologize if the flow of this chapter, like the others, are a little bit… off.

Reviews are welcome, suggestions considered, flames ignored, and unreasonable demands for anything above my rating... hated and scorned, tossed into the fire to burn, **and that would still be too good for it.**


	4. Stones of Lucis and Obscuri

**Disclaimer:** Negima! is not owned by anyone on unless said person is Ken Akamatsu in disguise… which translates to mean **ownership is not mine.** But… all OCs created by my words, taken from my ideas, and put onto paper are mine and only mine.

**Announcement: **Thanks to Raedric's perceptive eye, I realize I forgot to include the following statement into the story's backstory: **To convince her to stay, Negi strikes a deal with the Martian. Respecting her privacy, Negi has not disclosed the information to anyone, not even his partners or his familiar.**

Also, because of the length of this chapter, I have separated it into two parts for those who don't have the time to read it in one shot. Use the standard Ctrl + F to use "Part II" as a resume point. Thank you for understanding

**Notes:**

Ctrl + F Find. Input "Part II" for the second part of the story.

Part I – 5961 words. Part II – 4671 words. Overall – 11,108 words.

"Speech."

'_Thoughts.'_

"**Spells."**

**In The Last Chapter:**_"Chao-san!" Negi sighed, "I don't want to endanger anyone else. You have my word that I'll come, but I'm reluctant to bring anyone other than Asuna-san."_

"_I'm not going to force you, Negi, but the more people with us, the less dangerous the monsters inside will pose."_

"_Monsters?" Negi gulped but nodded nevertheless._

_Chao rubbed his head in reply and said, "How brave, Negi-sensei. I'm curious though; why are you willing to bring Asuna-san and not the others?"_

_Here, Negi replied sheepishly, "She can take care of herself… adequately, and would probably get mad if she found out I did something dangerous without her."_

"_Again," Chao grinned._

"_Again," Negi conceded with a smile he couldn't quite contain._

_It was only after Chao had left him behind when Negi realized two things: he had agreed to something quite foolish that might even get him killed, and that it was getting quite late._

_Disregarding the fact that he might be seen, he hopped onto his staff and rose out of the forest. Instead of heading to the city, however, he went in the opposite direction and went further in…_

"_Anya's going to kill me!"_

**- When we last left off,** Negi had agreed to help Chao in her quest for the Deity and Demon Stones. After his 'negotiations' with the Martian, Negi remembered that Anya was waiting for his return at Nekane's house… though she hadn't said it so many words. Taking flight on his staff, he heads to his childhood home, deeper in the forest…

**Termination of Spirit: Contract's Initiation**

**Chapter Four: Stones of _Lucis _and of _Obscuri_**

"Negi!" Nekane waved from the porch of her house. Hidden deep in the forest, the house was made of wood and was dutifully cleaned each day so that the dawn's early light was not marred by dirty walls. It had a decently sized backyard, a carefully tended garden, a well full of crystal clear water, and a series of tunnels where Negi and Anya had pretended they were adventurers exploring a never-ending cavern infested with monsters.

Nekane ran towards her cousin and adopted brother as Negi jumped ungracefully from his staff, dizzy from high speed flight. Before he knew it, he was crushed under an enthusiastic hug and smothering from lack of oxygen.

He went limp.

"Negi, Negi, are you alright?" Nekane inquired worriedly as Negi slowly hoisted himself upright. He coughed as air rushed back into his lungs and gave a nod to his sister.

Lightheadedness robbed him of a few minutes of his memory and, when he came to, he found himself sitting in a familiar, comfortable chair at a familiar, sturdy table. He looked around the kitchen he had been served meals in for the majority of his childhood with a smile. To his left were the same sliding glass doors and to his right, the same glass case that kept his collection of magical runes. Almost nothing had been changed; the neatness and tidiness that represented a part of his sister was still apparent though Negi had been gone for the better part of a year… or two.

"It's so nice to see you again, Negi," Nekane said as she set down a glass of milk and plate of cookies onto the table. "Still as short as ever, eh?"

"Onee-chan!" Negi exclaimed, "What kind of a greeting is that? Can't you see that I grew taller?"

"Of course you did, Negi!" Nekane smiled, "It was a joke."

Negi blushed at his childish exclamation and lowered his head in embarrassment. Nekane laughed lightly and pushed the refreshments towards him.

"Drink some milk, Negi," Nekane offered.

Negi took it in thanks and finished half of it before he blanched, "Why am I drinking milk as if I was still a little child? With cookies of all things!" He wiped the remaining cookie crumbs from his mouth irritably.

"Wipe your face with a napkin, not the back of your hand," Nekane scolded, handing him the white lacy thing she had pulled from a dispenser on the table top. Sternly, she added, "Negi, you know you need to drink milk in order to grow taller."

"Haven't you heard that milk from cows nowadays don't have the nutritional value they used to have?" Negi demanded.

"Nonsense, Negi, this is from Merdiana. Besides, a growing boy needs his calcium!"

Mentioned 'growing boy' sighed. "Somehow, it feels like you're my mother the way you nag… sister!"

"Really?" Nekane glowed, "You're making me blush."

"Now that I think about it… not so much so..."

Nekane scowled playfully at him and patted Negi on the head to his protests. "I wouldn't want to be the mother of such a sharp-tongued child either."

"I'd say he's more naïve than intentionally sharp-tongued," a feminine voice interrupted their conversation. "OI Negi, back so soon?"

"Anya!" Negi exclaimed in surprise to see his friend leaning against the doorway. He promptly blushed when he realized she was wearing nothing but a nightgown. He grew silent from embarrassment, looking the other way as Nekane added her own greetings.

"What's wrong, Negi," Anya asked with a smirk, "embarrassed?"

"No, no," Negi panicked, "Why would I be embarrassed? There's nothing to see!"

That earned him a subdued chuckle from Nekane and a scowl from Anya. "I'll let you off for that one because you're a little kid that doesn't know any better. Now goodnight!"

Negi managed to overcome his confusion to say, "But Anya, it's still light out."

Throwing him a look that meant she didn't care, she asked, "And what of it?"

"Normally, people don't sleep at four in the afternoon!"

"And normally, people get a good night's sleep to recover from jet lag. They don't get sent to look after a fledgling mage who almost gets himself killed and they also don't suffer from sleep deprivation because they are too worried about said fledgling mage, who just happens to be a childhood friend, to fall asleep. Now if you don't mind – and you won't – I'm going to sleep."

With that said, Anya forcefully bid goodnight again, leaving Negi looking downwards in a mixture of shame and guilt. "Think nothing of it," he heard Nekane reassure but felt unhappy nonetheless.

After another cookie, Negi announced, "I have to get going now, sister. My students are probably waiting for me to check up on them."

"Just one more thing, Negi."

"Yes, what is it?"

"Introduce me to your partners sometime. I'd like to meet your girlfriends."

"Partners… girlfriends?" Negi repeated, blinking before he realized what she meant. "Eh! It's not what you think! They're not my girlfriends; just friends-"

"Who are girls," Nekane finished slyly.

Negi sputtered in shock. He was saved a reply by the sudden shout of a familiar voice.

"Negi-sensei!"

Negi peered out the sliding doors to find who else but Ayaka walking towards them. He slid open the doors and exclaimed, "Iinchou-san!"

"Oh there you are Negi-sensei! The class was worrying about your well-being so I volunteered to find you."

"Thank you Iinchou-san; I was just thinking of meeting everyone when you arrived. Now that I think about it, it really is a great thing you came, Iinchou-san. I have no idea where the class is staying."

Ayaka glowed at the praise and said, "Really! You're making me blush."

"Negi-kun, what did I tell you about seduction?"

"Nekane onee-chan!" Negi exclaimed in embarrassment. He turned around, and there stood Nekane, addressing him in the accented Japanese she had helped Negi learn before he went to Japan. In his shock, Negi did not realize that he had reverted back into his improved Japanese in response.

Ayaka bowed respectfully, only understanding "Negi-kun," and hardly anything else, which was said in English. After all, why would Negi teach his students the word 'seduction?' "Nice to meet you," she greeted.

Nekane followed suit with her own bow and replied in her accented Japanese, "Nice to meet you too." Without pausing, she added, "Are you by any chance Negi's partner?"

Negi groaned inwardly as Ayaka went scarlet at Nekane's question, going into a daze.

"Did I say something wrong?" Nekane asked Negi in English.

Negi sighed. Immediately, Ayaka snapped back to attention and said, "I'm not sure what you mean by 'partner,' but I my name is Ayaka Yukihiro, Class president of 3-A. Negi-sensei has told us much about how great of a person you are, many times, Nekane Springfield-san. It's an honor to meet you."

"You're according me too much honor, Ayaka-san," Nekane gave her a warm smiled that included her teacher, who was currently looking down sheepishly behind her from embarrassment. "Now, I won't bother you two anymore. Are you coming back tonight Negi-kun?"

Negi nodded and they waved goodbye.

At first, Negi followed Ayaka without comment, idly putting one foot in front of the other as he inwardly cursed her sister's choice of words. What would have happened if Ayaka remembered that incident where the whole school had pursued him as a suitor because of a silly rumor? Rumor indeed; prince indeed; this was one of those times when he would like to strangle that nosy journalist and hurl her dismembered body into a river. Too bad Kazumi Asakura was one of his students, someone he had sworn to protect. If he had his way then the day that would end of her idiotic meddling once and for all could not come too soon!

A smile broke Negi's gloom as he silently chuckled at his thoughts. When had he become so vengeful?

'_It must be Asuna-san's influence,'_ Negi thought. With her, everything should be resolved with violence.

But then, she really didn't think before she acted, did she?

"Negi-sensei, is something wrong?"

Negi met Ayaka's arced eyebrows with another of his smiles that would send her swooning and incapable of speech, must less thought for the next few minutes. "Nothing at all, Iinchou-san, nothing at all."

After the first few minutes of silence, Negi and Ayaka settled into a comfortable routine of commenting nature. They chatted amiably about the differences between Wale's forests and Mahora's giant grove of trees. Negi was so engrossed in conversation that he did not register the change between forest and open clearing until Ayaka announced: "Well, Negi-sensei… we're here."

Negi looked forward and saw nothing but more trees and empty air. He glanced questioningly beside him to find Ayaka already walking forward. His eyes followed the back of her head as it sank lower and lower in his vision. With a start, he suddenly realized that he was standing on a hill, looking down at a campsite that must have come from out of a science fiction novel.

Four limousines outfitted with off-road performance wheels were parked in a rough square. The trees at the edges of the tree line sent their branches streaming over the automobiles' open windows. In the center of the square of limousines, Class 3-A milled about, mostly talking in groups, playing card games, polishing weapons, or in Zazie's case, juggling empty glass bottles of liquor they had found in the luxury vehicles' fridges. The culprits of drinking under age were currently incapacitated, receiving a drunken stupor for their hard work of chugging it down like there was no tomorrow. Negi grinned to see the twins sprawled on a log, their heads resting in Kaede's lap, who ruffled Kotarou's hair to loud protests that sounded like a dog's whine to Negi's ears. Negi felt compelled to intervene before Chizuru could execute a plan of torture with the ninja when Ayaka called him from where she stood in the center of the camp.

"Negi-sensei! Welcome to Camp Mahora, founded by Class-3A. Kiritsu, rei, chakuseki (Rise, bow, sit)!"

The last commands were executed swiftly by all who were not busy with people sleeping on their laps, and as usual, made Negi extremely uncomfortable.

"Thanks for the… introduction, Iinchou-san, but this isn't a classroom. There's no need for such formalities."

"Hear, hear," Chisame muttered as she smoothed her clothing out underneath her.

"Nonsense, Negi-sensei. It's an honor greeting you properly and shows just how much we enjoy your status as our teacher for another year, and hopefully more."

"In other words, you forced or blackmailed the rest of us so that you could seem to be in control."

Ayaka growled and spun around, her long blond hair coincidentally splaying across Negi's chest as she strode towards the owner of the sarcastic voice. "Another bout of ridiculous comments from the monkey, are they not? I expected you to behave with more class in the environment you're most suited for: the wild!"

"Just because I have a better chance of survival because of athletic talent does not mean I am anything less than you, shotacon woman!" Asuna retorted. "And I'm not a monkey!"

"Fine, I rescind that insult," Ayaka announced smugly to Asuna's confusion.

"Instead, I'll just kick you out of camp if you don't apologize for your unnecessary comments (and for calling me a shotacon woman)."

Asuna sputtered as Negi watched on in devilish interest, abhorred amusement, and immense confusion. "Tha-That's tyranny! You can't do this to me!"

"Tyranny or not, the power is mine, as are the limousines; so, submit to my will… unless you enjoy sleeping on the cold unforgiving ground." With that last jibe, Ayaka burst into laughter that sent a slight shiver up the spine of everyone within earshot.

After her shrill laughter died away, Negi caught Ayaka mutter something under her breath before Asuna's quick apology sent a burst of laughter rippling through the usual crowd who had been hoping for a fight between the two rivals.

"Is something the matter, Negi-bouzu?" Asuna demanded ill-temperedly as Negi struggled to keep a straight face.

"It's nothing, Asuna-san," Negi replied with a cough that hid a chuckle, "I just feel sorry for you."

"Why?" Asuna bit out warily.

"I heard that you didn't have such a good sleep yesterday night, what with the nights in Wales being so cold and all."

"Ayaka!" Asuna exclaimed, running up to the class president, intent on starting a fight.

That night, in a warm familiar bed, Negi stared at the ceiling, bright awake. A sigh escaped his lips as he rolled over, trying to sleep. He knew what was keeping him awake but there was no remedy in sight. He was suffering from homesickness.

Staying in Mahora for so long had him used to his bed in the loft, the soft breaths coming from underneath where Konoka slept, and the occasional grumbles from Asuna to the top bunk near his resting place. He missed the comfort of having too 'older sisters' keeping him safe from any superstitious nonsense a ten year old (eleven year old now that his birthday had come and passed ) could imagine. Negi's home in Wales had become slightly foreign to him, compared to his dorm in Mahora, sleeping easy and perfectly content. The only thing that could ruin the peace was a certain pair of fangs dipping into his sluggish pool of blood without his knowledge.

Shaking such morbid thoughts from his mind, Negi snuggled his body closer to his pillow, pulling the covers tighter against his neck. Instead, he turned his thoughts to how easy it had been to get Asuna to agree with the adventure Chao had planned out for him. What had not been easy was finding time to speak alone with her, and even when he could finally do so, he had felt two pairs of intent eyes boring into his back. It was even worse when the class ate together, resulting in a mixed atmosphere made of fresh air, eating camp style, and Chao's amazing food.

Chao kept Negi fidgeting, dropping sly suggestions here and there and arousing unwanted interest in his affairs the next day. She even managed to get the twins to sober up enough to drag him towards a limousine under the effects of alcohol, to most of the class's amusement and resulted in a panicked Negi, daydreaming Ayaka, and annoyed Chisame who promptly turned off her laptop and retired for the night. If Chao wanted his help then why couldn't she just let him be; shouldn't she try to make it easier for him to help rather than the other way around? Was it supposed to be some sort of strange Martian humor? If so, Negi for sure was not laughing.

Then, there was Evangeline, who's venomous tongue dripped acid every time he stepped within earshot of her, which was almost every other second considering her enjoyment of Satsuki's cooking and 'front-row-seat.' In a very nondescript and matter of fact voice, she basically announced that she would not accompany him on his trip the next day, once again arousing the inquisitive mind of one Kazumi Asakura.

Luckily, he had been saved by Satsuki announcing the end of dinner and Hakase's enthusiasm in showing him her new invention: the portable Chao Bao Zi Cart: AT (Alpha-Type). With the ability to fold in on itself to the size of a suitcase, it was the next generation prototype that would redefine the meaning of takeout and home delivery service. The only disadvantage to the Chao Bao Zi Cart: AT was its inability to fly, or so Negi was told.

'_They must be sleeping by now,'_ Negi thought to himself and smiled into his pillow as he thought about his students' sleeping arrangements. Each of the four limousines were equipped with internal heating systems that used a combination of solar cells, batteries for storage, and a new type of 'celestial energy' gathered by 'lunar cells', which used moonlight as its source of power; created, invented, and patented by Hakase of course (not to be distributed outside of Mahora).

The four limousines had three sections, each with two soft couches and a plushy, spacious, and carpeted isle in the middle. A sleeping bag was laid out on each of the three parts of a section within each of the three sections of the limousines within each of the four limousines resulting in a grand total of thirty-six people, accommodated. That accounted for all thirty-one students of Class 3-A, Kotarou, and the four drivers of the limos.

Negi felt a feeling of lethargy take over him. The last thing that came upon his mind was, "The counting must have put me to sleep. It's funny it's not sheep… this time…" Then, he sank into welcoming darkness.

"Negi-bouzu!"

Negi and Asuna looked up towards the hill where Ku Fei and Kaede stood waving. Negi, without further thought, sprinted quickly up to them, his white mages cloak flaring out behind him revealing a loose sky blue shirt and black form-fitting pants underneath. His speed quick left a lagging Asuna behind.

"Wait, Negi!" she managed to gasp before the boy followed her classmates farther into the forest.

A few minutes later, Asuna collapsed tiredly at the entrance to an enormous cave, her clothes in disarray. Pulling at the neck of the white blouse under her green, hooded sweater, she muttered insults about Negi's insensitive actions and seemingly endless energy as he enthusiastically greeted Chao, Mana, and Satsuki, who had been waiting for him to arrive.

Kaede picked some stray leaves from her martial purple robes as Ku Fei announced that they would be waiting in the cave and entered the darkness without waiting.

"Did you have a good night's sleep, Negi-sensei?" Mana asked with a rare smile after Ku Fei's bright yellow attire vanished into the gloom.

Negi nodded enthusiastically, "It took awhile to actually fall asleep, but strangely, yes, I had a good night's sleep." Mana raised an eyebrow at the salute he gave a good rendition of being a subordinate reporting.

"Good for you," Chao sighed with a yawn, her white mages robe shuffling as she covered her mouth with one hand. "So, how many came?"

"I only brought along Asuna-san," Negi replied with an apologetic hand behind his head. He managed to look sheepish enough so that Chao's silent glare only lasted for a few seconds.

Negi's nonchalant acknowledgement angered Asuna, who pulled herself to her feet with dark blue sweats ruffling, stumbling to where they talked.

"Only Asuna-san came?" Chao asked dejectedly as said classmate shambled over.

Negi answered by running a hand through is hair and reaffirming, "Sorry Chao-san, but I really don't want to endanger my other partners."

"But you'll endanger me?" Asuna growled with a menacing glare.

"That's not what I meant!" Negi denied quickly, "I asked you along for… various reasons."

"Which are?"

"Loyalty, fear, and trust," Chao suggested confidently. Negi nodded enthusiastically.

Slightly appeased, Asuna grabbed Negi in a headlock. Disregarding the second reason, she demanded, "Then why didn't you just say so?"

To his loud protests, she gave his hair a good-natured tussling. Negi managed to stammer out, "It's uncomfortable explaining it so bluntly."

"I hate to interrupt your childish romping," Mana stated in a tone that had no hint of apology within it, "but we have two uninvited visitors."

"One with a fair amount of ki, the other with dangerous levels of magic," Chao affirmed as though she had not supplied the fuel for their 'romping.'

Negi felt Asuna tense beside him. As she scanned the line of trees for any sign of danger, he made sure the pair of magic guns he had brought along was holstered securely and his staff was strapped firmly across his back. Then, he followed her example and closed his eyes, sending out wisps of his magical aura. _'If there is any magic, I should be able to sense the reaction,'_ he assured himself. '_There!'_

Negi snapped open his eyes at the same time Mana shouted out, "One wrong move and you'll lose your head… or at least an arm."

A quick glance in her direction proved to Negi that the gunslinger had indeed beat him to taking action, her ever present pistol gleaming from whatever light managed to make it through the forest's canopy. The slow breeze that suddenly blew revealed the twin of her weapon strapped to Mana's leg, which Negi could see from the slit of her light blue robes.

"We're coming out," a muffled voice called from the direction Mana's gun was threatening, "Don't shoot!"

A bush shook as a figure slowly stood up to a separate voice calling out, "Wait, Ojou-sama!"

"Ojou-sama?" Asuna and Negi exclaimed.

Chao grinned and nudged Negi, "I thought you said you only brought one of your partners."

Konoka giggled and waved in greeting despite Mana's disapproving warning shot that startled all present. Setsuna sheepishly lowered her sword as Mana re-holstered her pistol, its barrel still smoking.

Pulling Konoka down to the ground with her in a bow, Setsuna stammered out, "My apologies Negi-sensei, for following you, but you know how Ojou-sama is when she's determined not to be left out."

"That's going a little too far, Set-chan," Konoka pouted, "Besides, you got my pants all dirty."

Indeed, Konoka had ditched a skirt for a pair of pants, going for practicality opposed to fashion. It also said a lot that she was wearing a rather large tee-shirt instead of the usual blouse. Negi guessed that the outfit belonged to Setsuna, seeing as how she wore similar clothing.

"Ojou-sama…" Setsuna started tiredly in irritation but Asuna cried out, "Enough!" cutting off what complaint could have escaped form her mouth.

When she judged the two to be adequately subdued, she demanded, "What are you two doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Konoka asked, clapping her hands together, "We followed Negi because I was determined not to be left out."

Setsuna smacked her head and gave Negi a look that said I-told-you-so!

Chao gave them a big smile and announced, "All right then, welcome to our quest!"

"Chao-san!" Negi exclaimed in shock, "I said I didn't want to involve anyone else!"

"But you let Asuna come!" Konoka pouted again.

"That's because… that's…" Negi trailed off, unable to word it properly.

"That's because I can take care of myself well enough without anyone else's help," Asuna finished bluntly.

"I can take care of myself too!" Konoka exclaimed in anger.

"Once again, enough!" Mana interrupted, "Now let's get going before the sun rises any higher in the sky; preferably before it begins to set."

With sniffs of disdain, Konoka and Asuna walked into the cave, unwilling to meet each others' eyes.

Chao hurried after the two with a farewell from Satsuki, leaving Negi and Setsuna to sigh in exasperation. "I can understand Konoka-san getting angry, but what about Asuna-san?" Negi asked as the darkness engulfed them.

"Who knows, maybe Asuna-san's just worried?" Setsuna replied.

"We'll just have to wait and see…"

"So Chao, what are we looking for exactly?" Asuna asked. The group of seven girls and Negi all held lanterns while looking around warily for any signs of threat. After greetings between the two new members, Kaede, and Ku Fei, the two had been added into their formation with no questions asked. The formation had Setsuna, Ku Fei, and Asuna in the lead, Konoka, and Chao in the middle, and Negi, Kaede, and Mana in the rear. Melee fighters in front, support in the middle, and projectiles from the back.

"The Stones of Lucis and of Obscuri," Chao answered vaguely, "Or also known as the Deity Stone and the Demon Stone."

"Sorry, never heard of it," Konoka replied.

She got a grin in return. "All in good time; it'll be explained at a later date."

"That's not very reassuring," Asuna grumbled, and Negi couldn't help but agree.

"Here we are," Chao announced a moment later, "The entrance to the inner caverns."

Negi's eyes followed the wide sweep of her hand and deadpanned, "This… crack is the entrance?"

"That's right!" Chao exclaimed with a wink, "Now don't be shy; one at a time, single file please."

Negi blanched at the sight of the entrance. It was exactly what he had called it: a crack. Though large enough to admit a person, the faintness of the light at the other end was evidence enough of its length. Furthermore, the crumbling rocks and lingering dust gave evidence belying any sense of stability it gave.

"There are three rooms past this point," Chao explained as she beckoned the others closer to the crack. "The third room ends in a forked path. One leads to the stones… while the other supposedly leads to a room holding millions of life-forms. Chachamaru's scanners detected a cluster of heat there which probably belongs to monsters. We've assumed that's their nesting grounds. The monsters are more like simple golems, but are however, probably controlled by a hive mind and a queen demon with magical talent."

"Magical talent?" Negi shouted in shock as another voice rang out over his.

"Monsters!" Asuna exclaimed aghast, "Why didn't you-"

"Yay, monsters!" Konoka interrupted with a giggle and a foolish grin.

"Don't interrupt me when I'm talking, Konoka! And since when have you enjoyed the prospect of meeting monsters?"

"Since I had Set-chan, Negi-kun, and everyone else to protect me!" she replied, and with that said, she rushed past the others and slipped through the crack to Setsuna's dismay.

Almost immediately (despite the length of the tunnel), a gasp came to their ears as the others prepared to rush in after her. "Amazing," Konoka's voice drifted faintly through the crack. "Hurry and come; you won't believe your eyes!"

Without further urging needed, Chao rushed through the crack, a worried Setsuna following. Fulfilling her job as a bodyguard, Mana followed after leisurely, tailed by a reticent Kaede and an overly energetic Ku Fei.

"Konoka's recklessness is going to get her killed one day," Asuna muttered before she too pushed her way through the gaping crack in the wall.

Negi shrugged to himself; he never could understand girls and their actions. But Asuna was right: now that Konoka had been exposed to the magical world (and even before then) she was a target for those looking for a magical ransom. If she valued her life, she would be smart enough to put some consideration into her actions before she got herself into even more trouble.

"Oi, Negi-kun! Hurry up!"

Negi ran a hand through is hair in silent consternation, wondering how Konoka could still be this energetic in such a dark and foreboding place.

"Alright Konoka-san; I'm coming!"

He slid through the crack.

Negi gave Konoka the satisfaction of an impressed whistle. The first thing that met his eyes the moment he joined the others was light. Shimmering beautifully diverse colors, crystals lined the walls and showed through the ground in small clumps. The sight effectively erased Negi's thoughts about their earlier conversation from his mind.

"Be alert, everyone," Chao announced with a tone of voice one would use if they were their guide through a tourist attraction. "Two more room to go."

As they traveled deeper through the cavernous room, the iridescent crystals continued to light their way. Every direction one could see had some color of crystal in their field of vision, whether up or down, left or right, north, south, east, or west.

Yet, within a minute, they found themselves traveling in a dark tunnel to the next room. Though small clusters of crystals continued to give off dim illumination, there was still a sense of dark mystery that pervaded the soft glow and sent shivers up Negi's spine where he had taken his place back at the rear of their makeshift formation.

A chorus of gasps told him they had reached the next room. This time, however, the gasps had not come from immense awe but from immense fear, for, there in front of them, was a deep abyss that seemed bottomless and looked exactly like an open maw threatening to swallow them up.

'_Somewhat cliché for a cavern,' _Negi thought to himself, the first of several suspicions that began to build up over the next fifteen minutes as they traversed the narrow path that cut through the center of the chasm. Like winding trail, the bridge was a thick section of suspended rock linked to both sides of a sheer drop. Its width ensured the safety of the group as it could probably hold two army tanks side by side, though the thought wasn't all that reassuring. In fact, it was a bit morbid because Negi felt like he was marching to war against the mysterious, and so far unseen, guardians of this place.

There was symphony of sighs from a general sense of relief swept through the group when they left the chasm behind for another tunnel. A second such chorus, though softer, seemed to echo in the slightly claustrophobic tunnel when they could not see it even looking back over their shoulders.

"Third room," Chao announced, holding up her lantern to illuminate the last cavern.

At first, it seemed completely dark to their eyes though they had long ago adjusted to the darkness. Mana, with the keenest eyesight was the first to be able to pierce the fog-like darkness and, to everyone's surprise, muttered foreign words with such fear and vile that Ku Fei panicked, bumping into Asuna, who, in turn, dropped her lantern.

The dull clang of metal against hard, solid rock rang loud and clear. Within moments, most of the group was banding together, startled into action by the hissing accompaniment that came from the hundreds of bat-like creatures that lined the walls.

The first thing one would notice would be their burning red eyes, the color of deadly flame or dripping blood, depending on one's disposition and degree of pessimism or rather, lack of optimism. The second thing immediately evident was blue: blue as in blue, glowing blood that covered the creatures as a whole, oozing from open scratches caused by the hard rock which they clung to, and the sharp claws clinging onto them from nearby kin.

Each had large, leathery wings, currently furled, that would prove to be stiffer than leather, and tiny blades extending along the sides, what they had in exchange for the more normal shape of claws.

Little creatures full of the deadly potential for death… and they were currently highly agitated.

Their beady eyes flickered as, what seemed to be eyelids shielded them from the open fire of Asuna's unshielded lantern.

"Bloody-" Negi started to curse in English when the whole lot of the creatures unfurled their wings and flew into the air, circling above their heads with piercing shrieks and incredibly high-pitched squeaks.

Then, a flight of them dived at Negi and company.

Konoka screamed in fight, Asuna screamed **"Adeat,"** Setsuna unsheathed her sword, Ku Fei dropped into a stance, Chao followed suit, Kaede revealed hidden knives, Negi drew his magic guns, and Mana dropped the lot of them with a salvo of bullets.

Her twin pistols smoking, Mana motioned the others to get on with their defense as she calmly reloaded her guns. By then, Asuna had already knocked a few bats clean out of the air with her trademark giant fan. Ku Fei, accompanied by a more than adequate Chao, swept through the mass of diving bats and struggled through the mass of corpses until they reached the middle of the cavern. With her giant Fuuma Shuriken pulled free from her back, Kaede followed their path of destruction, twirling her quadruple bladed weapon in long deadly arcs above her head as Setsuna fended off the remainder of the bats.

Having recovered her wits, Konoka followed Negi's example in readying a healing spell just as Negi shouted, a spell launched in succession to a salvo of magical projectiles from his magic guns.

"**SAGITTA MAGICA, SERIES LUCIS!"**

Trails of light illuminated the cavern as eleven pierced rodents dropped to the ground following the others that were hit by Negi's marksmanship. The few remaining bats shrieked at the light and withdrew down a tunnel.

Mana idly twirled her pistols as her most observant eyes surveyed the scene. The numerous scratches on Ku Fei and Chao were gradually being healed by Konoka as Kaede and Setsuna kept a watch for more enemies. Negi was also helping with the healing, trailing his mage's cloak, which was now more grey than white from the dust of the area.

"**Abeat,"** Asuna muttered and her fan disappeared back into card form. "That seemed pretty easy," she said sarcastically.

Chao gave her a wink and said, "Of course it was. Compared to the main armada, that was nothing."

"Main armada?" Setsuna commented, "You make this sound like a war we're fighting, or maybe a war game we're playing."

"And what is more fun than living an adventure?" the leader of the exploration questioned in glee.

She received three sighs from Asuna, Setsuna, and Negi as a reply.

"All done!"

"Thanks," Ku Fei exclaimed energetically as the healing glow faded from Konoka's beginner's wand.

"No problem," Konoka replied, a glow of pride fending away her receding fear.

"Now, which way do we go?" Asuna asked with a complaining edge to her voice.

"Those monsters took the right passage, so I assume we'll take the left, is that right?" Mana asked from her position at the outskirts of their group.

"Precisely," Chao agreed just as a keening shriek pierced their companionable banter.

"And here comes the armada!" Ku Fei shouted with a bit too much enthusiasm.

'_She is however with all due respect, a battle-holic,' _Negi thought in consternation.

A sea of furry bodies poured into view as shots echoed loudly in the cavern and projectiles leapt from Kaede's deft hands as if they were alive.

Negi readied himself for another spell but his incantation stopped as dryness filled his mouth. His eyes widened in shock as he felt a response to his gathering of magic. Chao's earlier words played over in his mind: _'The monsters are more like simple golems, however, probably controlled by a hive mind and queen demon with a magical talent.'_

"Take down the queen!" he shouted over the cries of the bats. Immediately, Chao understood and beckoned the others.

As they fought in a close-knit group, she commanded, "Negi, take Setsuna-san, Konoka-san, and Asuna-san through the other tunnel. Take the Stones from the two guardians while Mana-san, Ku Fei-chan, and Kaede-san get rid of the Queen with me. Understand? All right, go!"

"But," Negi remembered, "The Queen has magical talent!"

"Move on, Negi-sensei!" Kaede called out as a precisely thrown kunai splashed fluorescent blue blood across the wall. "We can take care of these simple golems, de gozaru." Her remark was accented by three simultaneous death cries of three bats that had been cleaved in half by her giant Fuuma Shuriken.

"And it's not one-hundred percent determined the Queen has magical talent. Whatever it is, whatever it does, whether innocent or not, it will meet its end today," Mana added as the twin reports of her weapons pounded against Negi's eardrums again. "I'm billing you extra, Chao," she added as an afterthought.

"Hai, hai," Chao acknowledged as her fist slammed another of the bats into the wall. "Now hurry and go, Negi-bouzu!"

"Alright…" Negi finally obeyed albeit reluctantly. "Let's go, Setsuna-san, Konoka-san, Asuna-san."

They ran through the path opened by their companions and escaped down the dark tunnel unnoticed by their hunters…

"**Part II"**

Negi and his partners hurried down the tunnel. Every step brought the group farther from the sounds of fighting behind them. Every breath drove shame and guilt deeper into Negi's heart.

'_If something happens to the others, it will be my fault!'_

"No, it won't, stupid Negi," Asuna contradicted with a fist to his head.

"How…" Negi asked, but Asuna cut him off, "Don't argue when you're so worried you think out loud. The others are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. You should just be focused on keeping yourself safe. Don't worry about others when you should be worrying about yourself!"

"I agree with your lecture and all, but now's not the time for it," Setsuna interrupted, pointing ahead with her left arm while drawing her sword with her right.

Negi and Asuna snapped their heads forward to see a dim light. "What's over there?" Konoka asked, from the rear, as they slowed to a stop.

Setsuna motioned for silence and crept slowly towards the light.

Negi rubbed his eyes in disbelief as his eyes took in the sight of two forms.

One was dressed all in black: black sweater, black pants, black boots, and black cloak, black bandana over black hair. His companion, who stood a whole head shorter than him, was dressed contrarily in white: white robes, white shoes, white hair. Both of them had chains wrapped all around them, holding them upright. Behind the two, the soft pulsing light Setsuna had spotted earlier was partially hidden.

"It seems like they're asleep," Konoka commented in a hushed voice.

"It looks more like a torture rack than a bed," Asuna countered in a whisper.

"What do you know about torture?"

"Be quiet you two," Setsuna hissed, effectively ending the two's short argument.

While they were having their miniature conversation, Negi walked slowly towards the ring of light that surrounded and extended past the two figures. As soon as his foot left the shadows and touched down gently into the light, a sudden hiss echoed in the chamber.

In a semi-circle, hidden torches lit with soft crackles, illuminating the dark entrance the four had been standing in a second before. Silence replaced his companion's low mumbles to be broken by the sound of rattling chains. As if it had a will all of its own, the chains binding the two figures uncoiled from around their wrists, their ankles, and their waists. With slow lethargic movements, the two men awoke.

Their eyes opened – one sporting jet black eyes, the other disconcerting pale blue ones.

Negi defensively raised his arms from his side, fists clenched in caution. Likewise, Asuna readied her Pactio Card and Setsuna slowly drew her sword.

Then, to their surprise, the man with the black attire yawned loudly and scratched his black hair. He stretched, shedding layers of chains with the new light produced by the torches revealing a face that could not be younger than twenty or so years. He looked exactly as one would picture an arrogant youth. However, the acuity revealed by his eyes belied his reckless posture though Negi was surprised to see chains still restraining his movement.

Likewise, the other beside him looked much younger than Negi had assumed, not much older than eighteen or nineteen at best guess. His clothing had also been hidden by the darkness, his robes now noticeably more blue than white with purple lining the edges. His pale blue eyes were covered by a mess of white hair which grew unrestrained all the way to his knees. He too was still chained though the majority of the steel links had been cast onto the floor where they slithered away into hidden compartments.

A tense silence hung in the air as the two groups took in and compared each other's appearance. Then, in a light and merry tone, the taller of the two smiled, "Sorry for our inhospitality, but as you can see, we have no cups or plates, not even a chair."

"We have… chains," the other supplied unhelpfully with a wry grin. "Or rather, we had chains."

"So, what do you need?" they asked in unison. Negi shivered at the sudden seriousness of their eyes, though their postures and expressions were relaxed and carefree.

'_Eyes are the window to one's soul indeed…'_ he thought, as Asuna chose rather interesting words to reply, or rather, interesting language.

"We need neither pleasantries nor wit… whoever you are, yo!" she said, ruining her somehow adequate English with a Japanese expression for emphasis. Why she was using English was beyond him; nervous reaction perhaps?

With a start, Negi realized that he didn't understand the language that was being spoken to them. The meaning he understood, but not the language itself. In fact, he had no idea what his ears discerned.

"Matthew Frist, at your service," the tall man announced with a chuckle. "And the short guy over there is Joshua Nosfir. If he's not at your service, I'll deal with his attitude."

"What did I say about calling me short?" Matthew's companion exclaimed.

"Now, now, Joshua; you don't have to be so embarrassed."

"Embarrassed? I'll show you embarrassed when you're on the ground stripped of your dignity!"

"Interesting words for one bound in chains."

"You're no better off!

"Enough!" Asuna yelled for the second (or was it third) time that day, resorting to Japanese. "If you really are at our service then please move out of the way. All we're here for are two Stones in this death trap of a cave."

At her words, both men settled into silence and looked at her with such an aura of seriousness that Asuna felt quite intimidated. Her uneasiness was evident to Negi who observed her take a few steps back.

With a loud snap, the last of the chains around the two men slid off and disappeared into the darker recesses of the cavernous room. The torches flared with even more energy, and like before, Negi noticed something new.

"They have pretty good style for men," he heard Konoka whisper as two gleams caught his eye. Hanging around Matthew and Joshua's necks were identical necklaces; each was in the shape of a rune that seemed familiar to Negi in some way. However, this was not the time to try to remember something as trivial as that.

"I take it you're aiming for the Demon and Deity Stones, am I not right?" Matthew asked casually. As he spoke, Joshua took a bandana similar to his companion's from a pocket in his robes and tied back his long hair into a ponytail of sorts, shaking hair out of his eyes and tucking the stray strands behind each ear.

"And what of it?" Asuna demanded.

"So sorry then… it seems we won't be at your service after all," Joshua replied and snapped his fingers. Out of the ground came a long spear, the haft was a dark red color, and the top: a serrated blade of silver and green runes.

With a growl, Setsuna dashed forward, her sword swinging in deadly arcs. Joshua bowed politely to her before straightening and blocking her preemptive strikes with ease, his long spear keeping her away. She responded by increasing the tempo of her slashes, varying between horizontal, vertical, and diagonal.

Joshua found his arm beginning to numb as his feet shuffled awkwardly backwards from the force of her blows. Blocking another slash with both arms along his spear, he pushed her away and thrust his spear at her while she was still in the air. With precise movements, Setsuna expertly shifted the serrated blade away from her. With an almost soundless tap, she landed gracefully back on the ground and used her momentum to slide backwards out of the reach of the long ranged spear.

Taking initiative, her opponent went on the offensive with a series of spinning jabs and bashes with the rear end of his spear. As they traded blows, Konoka watched in fearful anticipation, praying for Setsuna's safety.

Meanwhile, Negi and Asuna had also started their attack.

"Asuna-san!" Negi exclaimed as he started an incantation. His eyes stared fixedly at Matthew in concentration as Latin spilled from his mouth. **"Veniant Spiritus Aeriales Fulgurientes…"**

Asuna nodded, summoning her artifact in its fan form and swinging it at Matthew with all her force. Blocking it with his bare hands, her opponent grabbed the fan and kicked her away. The fan came loose from her grasp and her sudden lost of focus gave Matthew an opening too good to be true.

With fingers aligned together, Matthew stabbed forward with his hand at Asuna's stomach. However, his hand was stopped by the sudden appearance of a long and thick blade. With no time to think about the 'how' of the situation, Asuna swung the sword horizontally. Dodging the imminent danger with a graceful black-flip, Matthew landed several meters from Asuna and her newly acquired weapon.

Throwing caution to the wind, Asuna dashed forward, slashing with ferocious power. A shrill whistle cut the air as Matthew gave her a grin before her blade swept passed his flank, her next swing missing by inches as he ducked. She used her momentum to spin around and swung the blade downwards with so much force it made a dent in the ground. A few feet back from the point of her blade, Matthew caught a black blur that rose from the ground and, in one smooth motion, threw it at Negi just as the young mage finished his spell.

"**Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens!!"**

The spinning blast of thunder and wind knocked the object out of the air, but the opposing swordsman didn't even flinch as the spell blasted towards him. With his weaponless hand, he smiled and seemingly blocked it with his palm. The object, now revealed to be a long black blade, landed point first in the ground within easy reached.

"That can't be…" Negi exclaimed in a mixture of recognition, shock, and disbelief.

"That's right, mage. It's the famed magic canceller, just like your friend over there."

"What's the meaning of this?" Asuna shouted. "And how do you know that I have that skill?"

Without a response, Matthew retrieved his blade and dashed towards Asuna.

"Stall him one more time!" Negi exclaimed as he started another incantation.

Barely blocking her opponent's jabs and swings, Asuna could only grunt affirmation before a rather forceful blow knocked her back a couple feet. With a cry, Asuna leapt high over Matthew's follow-up slice and rolled to lessen her impact. She came out of her roll facing Matthew and charged toward him again, slashing crazily with abandon.

Matthew blocked them all and exploited an opening. Parrying Asuna's blade thrust, he scored a thin mark across her stomach before she could pull back her overextended blade in time. Asuna grimaced in pain but didn't have time to even touch the wound before Matthew took on the offensive again.

With their roles switched, Asuna had renewed trouble keeping up her heavy sword to block the fast swordsman's nimble blade. Three shallow cuts along her shoulder and neck accompanied the one on her stomach, trickling small droplets of blood onto her sleeves and shirt before Asuna could solidly block an intended finishing blow.

"All offense and no defense?" Matthew jibed as they struggled for dominance, "Whoever taught you swordsmanship didn't do a good job."

With a cry of exertion, he pushed forward and his slimmer blade sent Asuna flying. She skidded despite the friction she created by driving her sword into the ground; she left a trail of dirt and cracked flooring behind. Matthew tensed himself for the retaliation but received an unexpected present in its stead.

"**Shining sparks, swirling thunder; come together forming a crushing Lightning Fang!"**

A giant golden fang burst from Negi's hand, the recoil pushing him backwards straight into Asuna, who managed to catch him safely. A large explosion accompanied Negi's thanks and the two peered into the resulting dust for any sign of Matthew's upright figure.

To their frustration, he was still standing when the dust cleared.

"Is it so hard to convince yourselves that you're not the only one who can magic cancel?"

Negi growled.

"**SAGITTA MAGICA, SERIES LUCIS!" **

Asuna's instincts kicked into overdrive, adrenaline coursed through her veins and granted her the strength to take large swing of her sword, deflecting arrows that surprisingly did not come from Negi's palm. Negi blinked as his vision recovered from the bursts of light as Matthew added, "Nor the only mage."

'_A mage who can also a magic cancel?' _Negi thought in horror.

"Now you've made me mad!" the voice beside him screamed in rage.

Negi brushed aside his thoughts and watched as Asuna once again locked blades with this formidable enemy.

Then a thought burst into his mind, "Asuna, hold him still!"

"**SAGITTA MAGICA, Random Arcs!"**

Negi watched carefully as his bolts disappeared against Matthew's invisible shield while he struggled with Asuna for domination.

"All right, about one meter on all sides…"

Negi ran forward just as Matthew leapt over one of Asuna's wild swings. Wielding his staff like a spear, Negi launched an assault on the swordsman while he was still in midair. Despite his disadvantageous position, Matthew blocked Negi's strikes efficiently, though not quite with ease. Negi and Asuna gave him no time to recover his footing before they attacked again, even before his feet touched the ground.

With a look of affirmation, the mage and his partner attacked at the same time with forceful swings downward. Matthew grunted as he caught both weapons on his blade, but the added force bent his knees. Then, with a great roar, he fought back with his sword and pushed Negi and Asuna both back. Instead of closing in again, however, Matthew pointed a finger at Negi and fired a concentrated beam of energy.

Negi braced himself for the hit but it never came.

He opened his eyes and found Asuna in front of him, holding the blast back with her sword and canceller combined. "Hurry up and do something!" she complained as sweat poured down her face.

Negi nodded acknowledgement and thanks before he stepped out from behind Asuna into sight. Holding his staff like a lance, he aimed the lightning shaped head at Matthew and disappeared in a blur of speed. Matthew grimaced, taking a step backwards as Negi cut out of his instant movement, his staff reaching through the space where Matthew had just been a moment before.

Matthew raised his arms to block the staff as Negi's momentum carried him forward, but to his surprise, Negi disappeared again. Appearing a step behind him, Negi rammed his staff into Matthew's back with a reverse grip: "**Unus Fulgor Concidens Noctem… Fulguratio Albicans**!"

A bright flash of thunder lit up the two, and with a cry of pain, Negi's opponent collapsed to the ground. The boy collapsed with him, utterly spent and landed ungracefully on his hands and knees. Asuna raced towards him with both good cheer and worry struggling for dominance on her face.

"That was brilliant, but how'd it work?" she asked as she pulled Negi up.

Taking her steadying arm gratefully, Negi explained, "I saw that my magic arrows were stopped about a meter from his body, and I remembered how some spell are not cancelled by you, Asuna-san. So, I guessed that if I connected my body to his through something that was on both sides of the barrier, the spell could travel through."

A loud cry snapped their heads to the side where Setsuna was still fighting.

"Setsuna-san," Negi shouted, hurrying towards the fight.

Suddenly, a hand snaked out and grabbed Negi's leg, holding him in place. "Hold it; it's not polite to interfere in duels."

Asuna raised her artifact and pointed the edge at Matthew. "He's still conscious?" she muttered.

"Yes I'm still conscious," he snapped back.

Negi likewise readied his staff, struggling in vain to pull his leg free from the man's grasp. Then, he watched in confusion as Matthew waved them to put their weapons down from his position on the ground.

"Don't look at me like that," he said, noticing their appalled looks, "I won't attack you; see, the control ring is damaged."

To their continued confusion, the man let go of Negi's leg and went on to pull the necklace he had been wearing off, where it shimmered once and took on the appearance of a neck brace.

"Never mind that now," he continued, tossing the thing to the ground with a dull clang, "Just watch their fight. Don't interfere."

Setsuna hissed in annoyance as another slim gash appeared on her arm. Her opponent's long reach had been keeping the fight relatively simple and boring for the past few minutes. Dash in, block, attack, get pushed out, flip back onto feet, dash in again… rinse and repeat.

"Why don't we end this now?" she asked, as she dashed in again.

"Fine by me," Joshua replied with an enthusiastic grin.

Setsuna launched a flurry of blows but Joshua blocked them all and returned the favor with lightning quick thrusts. Setsuna likewise avoided them all and smirked when she saw an opening.

Ducking under an overly aggressive jab, she stepped forward under his spear and slashed at Joshua's chest. With lightning quick reflexes, he managed to block with the rear end of the shaft but the force of her blow pushes him several feet back. As he recovered, Setsuna leaped forward and drew her sword behind her back.

"**Zanganken (Stone-Cleaving-Sword)!"**

Joshua flipped his spear and pressed a switch. A sword blade slit out of the end and locked into place with a click.

"**Zanganken (Stone-Cleaving-Sword)!"**

"What!" Setsuna managed to exclaim before their blades collided creating fireworks of sparks. With a yell, Joshua pushed her away into the air.

Quick to recover as always, Setsuna let her body slide backwards as she brought her sword behind her back.

"**Zankuusen (Air-Cleaving-Flash)"**

A spiral shaped flash of light rocketed from Setsuna's blade as she brought to point at Joshua in a quick slash. The attack rushed towards Joshua who raised his spear to block. To his surprise, the light cut through his spear and sliced his robe to ribbons.

Setsuna readied herself for the next string of attacks but a gasp from behind her stopped her.

"Set-chan!" Konoka exclaimed, pointing to Joshua.

Following her finger, Setsuna watched as blood flowed freely Joshua back, dripping to the floor in a slowly enlarging puddle. However, that was not what attracted her attention. From his torn robes sprouted wings from his back. They were white; white yet dirty like trampled snow and the tips were red; the colors blended at the edges like bloodstained cloth.

"A… half-demon… with white wings?"

"But I thought Setsuna was the only one who had white wings!" Negi exclaimed from to Asuna.

"She did say that, didn't she?" Asuna added, just as perplexed as Negi was.

"So that explains it," Matthew muttered.

"If you know something, spill it," Asuna growled, leveling her blade at Matthew's face.

"The duel is starting again," he pointed out from the ground.

With a growl of anger, Asuna turned her attention back to her shocked friend and the opposing half-demon.

"I didn't expect that," Joshua grinned, "You caught me off guard, swordsman. That was an interesting technique you used, but it won't work again."

Once again, he snapped his fingers and another spear rose up from the solid stone. It had the exact same appearance as the one which lay broken on the ground beside him.

Joshua spread his wings and kicked off the ground. The first few strokes were a bit unsteady but he was soon hovering above the ground by a mere foot in display of perfect control.

"Now how about finishing this, for real this time?"

With his challenge hanging in the air, he flew forward with spear tip to ground at a slant, a series of jabs lashing out from his stance once he was in range. Setsuna blocked them without moving from her spot. With a quick palm thrust, she knocked Joshua's spear to the side and dashed forward. Without a sound, she disappeared in a blur, cutting out of her instant movement behind her flying foe, launching another kick. He blocked with his right hand, managing to evade the blow meant for his head, but the force of the blow pushed the two away.

Again, Joshua flew towards her with his ready stance, but this time, Setsuna took the initiative. She dashed forward to meet his attack and, with a bracing hand on the back of Yunagi, pushed his spear down before he could launch another barrage of jabs.

'_Stalemate!' _Setsuna thought as she continued to hold the spear down, _'But not for long.' _

Setsuna, taking a gamble, raised her foot and stomped hard on a part of the shaft behind the sharp blade of the spear, locking the weapon down. As her foot collided with the shaft, she drew back her sword. Joshua quickly let go of his spear and flew back to dodge a massive swing.

With the distance between them too much for her sword to reach, Setsuna took a step back and kicked the spear towards Joshua. Without waiting for him to catch it, she dashed forward, sword drawn back. Catching his weapon, Joshua flew up and over Setsuna as she ran past and then dove down towards her unprotected back.

"Set-chan!" Konoka cried as Setsuna skidded to a halt.

Spinning around, she planted her feet firmly on the ground and jumped to meet his dive. With a yell, she knocked Joshua's spear to the side as they met in the air and followed up with a vertical slash. He reflexively blocked with the spear shaft in a horizontal guard.

With a triumphant grin, Setsuna flipped over his guard in a twirling roll using his spear as a lever. Still in midair, she finished one rotation of her roll and kicked Joshua down with a powerful two-foot spike. Settling back into another mid-air roll, Setsuna finishing another vertical rotation before her feet met the, by now, nearby wall and kicked off against it, back at the plummeting spear user.

She braced herself for the inevitable tearing of bone and flesh as the point of her blade cleaved through the air, speeding her wingless flight.

With a boom of thunder, Setsuna suddenly stopped as Yunagi's point rattled a meter away from Joshua's back, stopped by an invisible barrier. Sparks ran around her blade point, circling over and over again before it exploded and threw her back. Setsuna cried in pain as she flew far off into the wall of the cavern.

The thud of her impact echoed in the cavern.

"Set-chan!" Konoka yelled with Negi and Asuna's cries joining hers.

Joshua's wings twitched as Setsuna slowly stood up, supporting her shaky legs with the stone wall. Her vision started a nauseous transition of blurry to razor sharp and back to a blurry mess again. Still, her eyes managed to make out the newly and totally blood red wings that started flapping erratically. She still noticed the sudden light coming from Joshua's necklace as he stood up and the way he moved jerkily. She could tell there was something wrong by the ruby light that spilled from the magic circle under him and the magical runes inscribed on his body as it straightened, spear in hand.

A faint aura surrounded his eyes, masking the blue with red.

Setsuna leaped clumsily over his spear as he attacked again, staggering as she landed heavily. Her disorientation saved her, the deadly whir of the spear parting the air above her as she tipped forward.

She turned around and it was all she could do to hold Yunagi in front of her between the threatening spear and her heart. Shaking her head did not clear her mind; it made it worse.

Konoka tried covering her eyes but Setsuna's hisses of pain cut deeper than any thing she saw could ever wound. So she didn't cover her eyes, but watched, mind grasping for a way she could help.

By the time she pulled her wand out and started her incantation, Setsuna was covered with cuts. The only places untouched were her chest and stomach. Various marks dripped blood from her face, neck, and legs. Each unsteady step she took backwards scattered red droplets across the floor, making a sick and twisted sea of stars.

"Let go of me!" Negi and Asuna yelled at Matthew, their legs held fast by his arms. Though he was still on the ground, they could not move and they did not have the strength to drag him.

"I've had enough of your 'Don't interfere' nonsense!" Asuna yelled as she lifted her sword and prepared to whack him over the head with the heavy blunt end. A harsh jab of pain exposed her folly as she struggled to stay upright. She glared at Matthew with uncharacteristic tears in her eyes, still wincing in pain. With a growl, he pressed her pressure point harder releasing her low hiss of pain.

"I'll say it again; STAY PUT AND JUST WATCH!"

'_You can do it, Konoka! Just like Negi-kun! Here we go!'_ Konoka silently cheered herself on as she clearly chanted, **"Practe Bigi Nar, Sagitta Magica, Una Lucis!"**

A jet of light burst from Konoka's practice wand attracting the attention of all present.

"Yes, I did it!" Konoka congratulated herself.

"Konoka!"

Konoka looked up at Asuna's cry, to see a frightening sight. With one wing, Joshua batted the lone arrow away and advanced on her. With a mighty flap of his crimson wings, he flew forward in a burst of speed.

Setsuna put herself between the two but with her injuries, she was a second slower than usual. Instead of stopping him in his tracks, Setsuna received the rear end of his spear, sending her flying into the air.

The spear blade loomed closer and closer in Konoka's eyes. Out of instinct and fear, Konoka snapped her eyes closed and prepared for the worst. But, before her eyes closed, she thought she saw a glimmer of white…

Konoka blinked in confusion when she found herself completely alright a moment later. However, it became increasingly obvious that Setsuna was not.

Her white wings were tainted red with blood and her breaths were deep and painful. Through the pain, her eyes remained sharp and focused on the scowling figure in front of her who was struggling to either remove his spear from her side or to push it in deeper.

Negi's eyes widened as a second cry of pain filled his ears. His heart rate accelerated as his mind blanked out. Two emotions fought for control: guilt and rage; guilt for endangering and therefore injuring his student and rage at anyone who had hurt his close friends. A dark aura enveloped him, unbeknownst to all but a single person.

"Negi-sensei! I'm alright," a pain-filled voice broke his trance just as his legs tensed to spring. Setsuna gave him a reassuring smile.

Negi shivered in fright, _'What was that… darkness?'_

"Set-chan! Why…?" Konoka trailed off, her distress too great to be put into words.

"I swore to protect you, with my life if need be as both your guardian and your friend," Setsuna replied seriously while she struggled for control of the blade piercing her flesh. "Besides," she added, turning her head towards Konoka with a grin, "Who would heal me if you got hurt?"

With that said and done, Setsuna kicked both Joshua and his spear away from her and propelled herself forward. Cutting out of her instant movement a hair's breadth behind Joshua's still rising body, she slammed the pommel of Yunagi into the back of his head, drawing blood and knocking him immediately unconscious.

She landed painfully and staggered. The last thing she heard was a distorted blend of three voices calling out her name.

Then, Setsuna collapsed…

**- To be Continued…**

**Author's Note: **

Reviews are welcome, suggestions considered, flames ignored, and unreasonable demands for anything above my rating... hated and scorned, tossed into the fire to burn, **and that would still be too good for it.**


	5. Dreams of Past and Future

**Disclaimer:** Negima! is not owned by anyone on Fanfiction unless said person is Ken Akamatsu in disguise… which translates to mean **ownership is not mine.** But… all OCs created by my words, taken from my ideas, and put onto paper are mine and only mine.

**Notes: **As of this chapter, I'll be referring to the Principal as Headmaster to those who might have noticed my mistake in Chapter 2 (at least I think it was in Chapter 2). Thank you for your understanding.

"Speech."

'_Thoughts.'_

"**Spells."**

**Termination of Spirit: Contract's Initiation**

**Chapter Five: Dreams of Past and Future**

'_Where am I?'_ Negi wondered as he seemingly floated in thin air.

He tried to talk but no sound came forth from his mouth. No sound filled the silence of the space around him but a change seemed to suddenly burst into life.

Colors swarmed and made blurry images. An artistic portrait came to life before Negi's very eyes, quickly sharpening into focus. It was a portrait of destruction.

'_Mahora…'_ Negi silently gasped.

Fire devoured the buildings, licking the white walls, scorching them black with its hungry embrace. The sky was dark with clouds but no saving rain rescued the running victims of fire.

Negi realized with a start that he was floating above the chaos and that no one paid heed to his presence; not even the end of the world could hide the sight of person floating in mid-air. Thus, he was literally invisible to the inhabitants of Mahora.

Though he did not remember when he had fallen asleep, Negi knew at once that this had to be a dream. He had heard before that mages would sometimes dream realistic worlds and could form conscious thought within them, but Negi had never actually experienced it before.

The explosion of questions that burst forth from his discovery, he put aside unanswered. Something caught Negi's eyes, brushing away all other thoughts.

'_Wait… that's me! And there's Asuna-san, Konoka-san, and all my other partners! What's going on?'_

With no apparent movement on his part, the figures grew closer and larger in his eyes.

It was soon apparent that the lot of them was running in the same direction: straight through the streets of fire.

Then, like the sudden popping of a bubble, Negi could hear the crackling of the fire now surrounding him, the fear-filled cries of children, and the yells of staff trying to put out the raging fires.

As he struggled with the sudden onslaught of noise, Negi continued to drift closer to his running students with the same lack of motion, slowly adjusting to his sudden perception of sound. Soon, he could make out their voices, but something attracted his attention away from their conversation.

He could feel the heat radiating off the towering flames.

'_Hey, this is a dream… right?'_

"No, Ayaka, head back!" Asuna's voice intruded on his bewilderment.

'_Iinchou-san…?'_ Negi started before he remembered that no one could see him or hear him. So, he had no choice but to watch as Ayaka shouted back from a distance.

"What are you spouting now, Asuna? Negi-sensei is lagging behind you. He must be tired from all this running!"

To both Negi and Ayaka's consternation, Asuna yelled back, "That's the point!" and proceeded to grab Ayaka and drag her by the wrist.

"Let go of me you monkey!" Ayaka struggled, finally pulling free to Asuna's cry of distress.

"What are you doing?" Asuna shouted at Ayaka's back. Negi caught her desperation in both her tone and the lack of response to her rival's insult.

"What do you think? Of course, I'm going to help Negi-sensei; I'll carry him if I have to!"

"No… Ayaka!"

Negi, completely confused – and a little bit hurt – by Asuna's words and reaction, decided to study his twin a little closer as the class president ran towards him.

Though his twins face was hidden by the shadows created by the looming clouds and flickering flames, Negi could tell that there was something strange about the doppelganger's movements. There was something different though it physically looked exactly like Negi.

He moved, not like a tired boy, but as a hunter, playfully stalking its prey, for lack of a better analogy.

'_And there's something else…'_

But by the time he could put what he had sensed into words, Ayaka had already reached her teacher.

"Sensei, are you alright?" she asked, stopping to catch her breath. The dream Negi gave her a smile, exposing his face to the light.

Ayaka smiled back uncertainly in response, glancing back at Asuna with a triumphant glare as Asuna shouted, "No, stop!"

A sudden movement transformed Ayaka's querulous reaction into a look of complete and utter shock. Negi's eyes widened as a spear – black as night and as green as a field of cloud-darkened grass – slid easily through Ayaka's stomach. "Negi…" the girl gasped in surprise and pain before she collapsed against the child teacher.

Negi looked at his own hands in horror as the dream Negi idly kicked her off his weapon.

Negi could only dimly register the gruesome act as well as Asuna's tear-filled cry when her companions restrained her and pulled her away from the pool of red liquid surrounding Negi's doppelganger. All Negi could see was and image of blood, slowly seeping up and covering his hands, reliving the jolt he had felt when those hands had cruelly impaled a student he had sworn he would protect.

"Asuna, let's go," Negi hardly heard Konoka plead as he stared at his hands and horror, something choking in his throat, "The farther we go, the less chance of someone getting hurt."

"But, we can't just leave Ayaka here! She might still be alive-"

Another stab of guilt and grief coursed through Negi as Konoka shook her head, "Her aura's gone..."

Asuna seemed to deflate and collapsed to her knees, losing her characteristic energy at her friend's death. "It's our fault," she muttered, "**He's after us.**"

"Let's go," Konoka pleaded again.

Slowly, Asuna nodded, but before she let Konoka lead her away, she hissed at the monster who had slaughtered his own student, "I know you're not Negi; he'd never do anything like that, you demon!"

Not-Negi grinned and said something that Negi couldn't make out. The last thing he saw was Asuna's paling face at whatever his doppelganger had said before everything disappeared.

Negi woke up blinking his eyes clear of tears brought forth by pain, grief, and most dominating of all: fear.

He had done the impossible; he had killed. Even if it had only been a dream, Negi knew that it was possible. He had heard of people changing drastically, family members killing their own kin; it was a fact of life. Humans blamed it on everything from objects to other living beings, but the truth was simple: it was human nature to kill and destroy.

Negi took deep breaths to try to calm down and wiped his eyes clear. The action left him feeling drained, empty and unsure of what the future would bring.

'_Remember the past and learn, look to the future and hope, stay in the present and dream…" _Negi thought, idly wondering where he had heard that before he noticed the strange pulsing light coming from his pant pockets, softly pushing away the gloomy darkness of his surroundings.

Negi slowly pulled out two glowing objects. The light revealed them to be two stones: one pure white and the other jet black. The stones triggered a memory in Negi's thoughts but a sudden burst of light from the exposed stones pushed it to the back of his mind.

Negi found the stones glued to his palms, unable to let go. Without dropping the bright objects, Negi shielded his eyes with the palm of one hand and closed them for good measure. Regardless of what he did, however, tears continued to slip out from under his eyelids as they strained to filter out the intense light.

After a few seconds of blocking the radiant light, Negi tentatively opened his eyes, to find the darkness once again surrounding him. As he did so, he felt a spike in magical energy and snapped his arm to look around for the culprit of such a high power of magic. He was disappointed in that sense when he couldn't find the source of the alarming presence.

Negi sighed as he faced forward again, blaming his imagination for the hallucination until he came face to face with a mysterious figure which stood in front of his seat.

It was about his size but wore an all-concealing black cloak. What more, not even the stranger's eyes were visible nor the shape of the figure's body; Negi could tell neither the stranger's age nor gender.

"How did you get here?" Negi asked in a hushed voice. With a sudden recollection, he added, "We're flying thousands of feet in the air."

There was not response from the dark cloak that hid his enigmatic night-time visitor.

"How did you get here?" Negi repeated.

As if in response, an invisible and unfelt wind moved the cloak in an almost hypnotic fashion. Negi's eyes widened as the figure suddenly moved, not towards him but to the window. As it passed, Negi caught a flicker of a grin, – insubstantial yet definitely there. But before he could raise a hand to stop or challenge it, the stranger started to fade away like mist.

Finding his eyes locked onto the strange sight, Negi watched as the figure faded through the wall. Negi, peering through his window, saw it land on the plane's wing. Unaffected by the high altitude temperature or wind, the figure stood unperturbed.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Negi shouted, when the figure faded away.

It was only after Negi looked away from the window, that he noticed the stones in his hands had still been shining but dimly and very gently. As he studied them stoically, they lost their shine and soon faded into the darkness of the plane.

Negi took a moment to clear his thoughts, filing away the strange encounter into a corner of his mind.

Peace slowly resurfaced after the confusing sight slowly faded away.

Now he remembered. He was in Ayaka's private plane with his students, all of which were currently fast asleep, except for Evangeline who had left early. To Negi's point of view, she had quickly become bored of her little vacation and, in an unexpected bout of mercy, left before them, claiming that she had tortured the Headmaster enough.

The class had taken the plane the evening Negi and the others had returned with Chao and the others from the caverns and then they had almost immediately gone on a grand tour with the rest of the class…

"That's right," Negi muttered, hefting the two small stone blocks. "These stones are the ones we found in the caves!"

"Negi-kun?" Negi jumped in his seat, startled by the feminine voice that had interrupted his musing. He quickly turned around to see Konoka tiredly rubbing her eyes with her left hand and covering a yawn with her right. "Is something the matter?"

"Nothing's wrong, Ko-Konoka-chan. Just… please don't scare me like that again!" Negi replied, stammering out the last part in a torrent of words.

Konoka gave him a quiet smile and plopped down next to him on the couch. Negi once again wondered at the amount of money Ayaka had to have to own a private plane that flew first class for each and every one of its passengers. Unfortunately, there hadn't been enough space to section off the plane by gender, so Negi had had a very interesting conversation with Asuna before they had retired for the night, warning him about the repercussions of climbing into bed with her in such a place.

"Did you just wake up?" Negi ventured hesitantly, cautious that Konoka might suddenly nod off and fall onto him, trapping him in a manner that would most certainly earn the wrath of half the class when they awoke. Considering his past experiences and horrible luck, Negi wouldn't be surprised if his thoughts were themselves enough to bring about and unpleasant situation.

To his surprise, Konoka shook her head. "No, I woke up a little bit ago; I had a nightmare."

"Strange," Negi said, "So did I."

"I don't remember it though," Konoka added though strangely with disappointment echoing her voice.

Negi laughed it off and said, "I don't want to remember mine."

Konoka grinned with him and before the two knew it, they had fallen asleep with Negi's head resting on Konoka's shoulder and her head on his.

Unbeknownst to the two, however, six other pairs of eyes were roaming the ceiling aimlessly, their minds questioning their wakefulness at the late hour.

**Dream/Flashback**

"Secchan!" Konoka gasped, rushing over to her friend's fallen form, kneeling by her side. Without waiting for a reply, Konoka whipped out her card and summoned her artifact. A flash of light later, a pair of fans were clenched tightly in her trembling hands. Sending a rush of energy through her artifact, Konoka directed the healing magic into Setsuna's unmoving body.

The cuts on Setsuna's body started to disappear quickly, too quickly.

The yellow glow of magic turned green as perspiration slid down Konoka's face, accompanying the worried tears. She blinked the liquid out of her eyes, squinting past the light to watch her friend's cuts slowly fade away.

"Konoka stop!" Asuna cried out as Konoka shakily steadied herself with a hand against the floor. Negi followed Asuna as she ran over to Konoka, adding, "If you keep going, you'll kill yourself!"

Negi nodded confirmation and added, "Don't push so much magic into your artifact. In the worst case scenario, you'll overload and break both the artifact and yourself!"

A ways from them, Matthew slowly sat up and dusted off his clothes. Though he clutched his head in pain he managed to get himself upright and stumbled over to his fallen companion. As he moved, he kept one eye on Asuna as she grabbed one of Konoka's fans. Inevitably, Asuna's magic canceling property stopped the magic from reaching its target.

Konoka panicked when she saw her magic being pushed back by Asuna's invisible barrier. "But, Asuna, Secchan will…"

"I'm alright, Kono-chan," Setsuna groaned, rolling over onto his back. Ignoring the pool of red surrounding her, Asuna helped Setsuna sit up; she wasn't one to be squeamish of blood. "I've taken worse."

Konoka stubbornly shook her head. "But Secchan!"

"Setsuna is right, Konoka," Asuna interrupted. "Wouldn't Setsuna-san know if she was in danger? She wouldn't willingly lie to you. The fact that she's conscious indicates that she'll be alright and that if you slow down a bit and pace yourself. Three minutes isn't that long to wait compared to the results."

"Alright…" Konoka finally conceded. Then, with a brave smile, Konoka asked, "Why do you only call me Kono-chan when you want to convince me that you're alright?"

Asuna gave Konoka a scrutinizing once-over as Setsuna smiled, before moving the girl over to a drier section of the cavern with Negi's help. She took a step away from her friends in order to prevent her natural anti-magic barrier from further disrupting the healing process.

"It got your attention, didn't it?" Setsuna replied before closing her eyes and resting her head on Konoka's lap.

"Setsuna-san," Negi started a moment later, but Setsuna shook her head.

"Later," she assured him.

Asuna either didn't notice the exchange or chose not to say anything about it; Konoka was too engrossed in her healing to notice.

Turning to Asuna, Negi commented, "I didn't know you could sound so mature, Asuna-san. Giving her that lecture, it was as if you knew what you were saying!"

"You little brat," Asuna growled, shaking in anger.

"Huh? It was a compliment."

Asuna punched Negi hard, down on his hand, bringing tears to the child mage's eyes.

"What was that for, Asuna-san?" he cried in pain.

"A compliment," she replied and ill-manneredly picked Negi up by the scruff of his neck.

She proceeded to drag Negi away from Konoka and Setsuna, bringing him to a stop in front of Matthew, who was seated on the ground next to Joshua. Negi stood up uncertainly after Asuna dropped him roughly to the floor, checking Joshua for any signs of consciousness. Aside from the drying blood, strange robes, and crimson edged wings, the youth looked just like any other unconscious human.

"Explain… now," Asuna hissed in a tone that brooked no argument.

Matthew gave her a tired salute followed by a grin which angered Asuna even more. She drew back her hand and punched Matthew for all she was worth, shouting, "Quit fooling around!"

Calmly, Matthew caught her fist and held it as he said, "Yes, sensei."

"That's it!" Asuna yelled, pulling away, but before she could do anything drastic, Negi restrained her with a hand.

"Patience is key," he quoted, which earned him another punch to the head. "What'd I say?"

Asuna growled warningly at him but calmed down nonetheless, motioning Matthew to get on with his explanation.

"First, I'd like to ask a favor of Mage-san," Matthew said with exhaustion lacing his words.

"It's Negi Sprinfield," Negi told him, realizing that he had never properly introduced himself. "Sakurazaki Setsuna-san and Konoe Konoka-san," he introduced the other two, though they were resting out of earshot. "And this is Kagurazaki Asuna-san," he finished, pointing to the flustered girl beside him.

"Nice to meet you," Matthew bowed his head, "but introductions are a bit late, wouldn't you say?"

Negi blushed with embarrassment but went on to clear his throat and asked, "So, what do you want me to do. I assume you're not going to ask me to die, right?"

"Of course not," Matthew reassured with a grin, being generous with his smiles. Instead of digressing any further, he bluntly said, "What I need you to do is to cast a thunder spell on the necklace around Joshua here's neck. That is, if you don't want him to wake up and attack you again."

Not totally understanding the situation, Negi nodded as Asuna scoffed behind him. He heard her mutter something about helping their enemies being foolish and a waste of time, but nonetheless chanted, **"Una Spiritus Aeriales… Sagitta Magica, Series Fulguralis!"**

A single magical arrow of high voltage electricity hovered in Negi's palm, illuminating the area. Negi took the chance to study both his and Setsuna's former opponents. Due to the dim illumination that had predominantly covered the cavernous room before, Negi couldn't make out some of their characteristics when he had studied the two chained men. Now within illumination, however, he could tell that Matthew was most probably American and that Joshua could be Chinese… but he could just as well be Japanese with Negi's level of experience. Maybe it was a good thing that Negi hadn't learned how to judge other people to the world's standard, but Negi put that thought aside.

Squinting one eye, Negi aimed and hurled his magic arrow at its target. To Negi's immense relief, the magic hit its intended target and not the unknowing person wearing it. Asuna whistled, amazed, despite her annoyance, at the preciseness of Negi's technique showed. A centimeter more and Joshua would have woken up to a great deal of pain and probably a great deal of anger as well.

Matthew reached over and pulled the necklace loose. There was a snap and accompanied with a different sound not unlike sand falling within an hourglass. Negi blinked as Joshua's wings quivered and then dissolved from the tip in until there was nothing left there but a memory.

"Alright, we gave you your favor," Asuna impatiently announced, apparently not noticing the strange disappearance of Joshua's wings. "Now give us our explanation as per our deal."

Matthew bounced the necklace in his hand casually as if nothing had happened. A moment later, like what happened with his, the accessory shimmered once and took on the appearance of a grey, iron neck brace. Negi took the chance of the moment to study the strange contraption. With his magical sense, he felt a hint of the strong magic imbued in the brace via the detailed inscriptions and runes covering its shiny surface.

"Well?" Asuna demanded.

"It was never a deal," Matthew began, but a glare from the annoyed girl made him dwell on his next word. He hesitated for another second, but he decided to concede in the end with a sigh, and said, "The neck braces are artifacts which contain the power to control its wearer in order to fulfill the orders given to it by its makers. To improve the abilities and lengthen the life of the human under its control, it copies the opponent's abilities into its slave as well as casting a time stasis spell to counteract aging."

The complicated description that sounded like it had come from a textbook confused Asuna. Thus, she blinked once, twice, thrice, before turning to Negi with a questioning glance.

"Counteract aging?" Negi asked, bewildered. "But no mage has successfully constructed such a spell!"

"Not in your time maybe," Matthew replied.

Negi had an inkling of the truth, but to confirm his suspicions, he asked, "What do you mean by 'my time?' Are you sure you don't mean 'our time?'"

A groan from Joshua interrupted the conversation. "What happened," the white-haired teen asked, rubbing his head in an attempt to clear away the pain.

"Ah, these nice people freed us Joshua. Don't you remember?"

"Just great," Asuna muttered. "He's one of those people who just love flattering others."

Matthew pretended he didn't hear that disparaging remark and helped Joshua up. Immediately after managing to stand upright with Matthew's shoulder for support, Joshua asked, "Is that swordsman girl alright?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Setsuna called from where she was still resting, startling Konoka who thought she was asleep. "I have very good hearing," she added as if she had read Negi's mind while he asked himself how she could have heard with the distance between them.

"I assume you told them about these… accessories of ours?" Joshua asked Matthew.

"The other two girls probably have no clue what's going on, but I told our saviors while you were snoozing away," Matthew replied with a reassuring grin.

Joshua nodded once and smacked the back of Matthew's head with his free hand before letting go of him. Before Matthew could retaliate in any way, he stumbled away and over to the girls, apologizing as soon as he got there. It was a rather interesting sight for Negi, to watch the wounded boy fall to the ground, halfway to his destination, before slowly getting back up.

"So where are these stones you're protecting?" Asuna restarted the interrogation.

Negi and Matthew blinked in surprise at the blunt question; they both had completely forgotten the objective of this little encounter. Matthew ran a hand though his hair sheepishly and pointed behind him, over his shoulder.

Negi and Asuna peered around him – Matthew was too tall for them to look over – and finally discovered the source of the cavern's light (aside from the torches still burning behind them. Two palm-sized stones rested on a podium, side by side. One was black and the other white, making it immediately obvious which stone was which. Surrounding the podium in a perfect hexagon was a glass case with six vertical rods in between each pane of glass. The whole thing was rimmed with a silvery metal that was extensively carved with a combination of detailed inscriptions and runes.

"I hope Chao-san will be satisfied with these," Negi said as he strode towards the glass case.

"That reminds me… why are you doing this for Chao, anyways, Negi-bouzo?" Asuna asked, jogging after him.

"Wait… Chao?" Matthew muttered to himself. Then, with a start, he ran after the two.

About a dozen steps from his objective, Negi suddenly found a hand grab his wrist, restraining him.

"Matthew-san?" Negi asked as he found himself unable to pull away from the man.

"What are you doing?" Asuna demanded. "Don't tell me all of that was a lie?" she added, running up to the two.

"Chao… Chao Lingshen?" Matthew asked Negi urgently, shaking him as he spoke.

"Matthew, what are you doing?" Joshua called from where he sat next to Konoka and Setsuna.

At the same time Negi nodded uncertainly in response, Asuna yelled, "Let him go this instant!" With a mighty leap, she cleared the remaining few feet between them and launched a kick at Matthew.

Mathew grabbed her leg with his free arm and threw Asuna away from him. Not dissuaded in any way by the failure of her preemptive strikes, Asuna leapt back at him and swung a punch at Matthew, only to find her arm caught and twisted behind her back. She let out a yelp of pain as Mathew pinned her arms behind her and held them together with a single arm. In doing so, however, he had to let Negi go.

Though Negi did not approve of Asuna's methods, his loyalty could not ignore the pain of his student.

"Please stop it, now!" he pleaded. "Why are you doing this?"

"Tell your friend to stop struggling and I'll release her," Matthew replied as he struggled to keep Asuna still. "Then, answer my question."

"You have no right to order me around!" Asuna yelled as she struggled to pull her hands free. "And neither does Negi!" she added when the mage opened his mouth.

She growled in frustration as Matthew managed to transfer the captivity of both of her hands to the one of his own, locking them together by the wrists. With his free hand, he kept Asuna's head from breaking his jaw.

"So you're going to resort to violence?" Matthew asked Negi as he, finding no other choice, slowly raised his hand towards him, palm outwards.

"If that's what it takes to make you let her go!"

Matthew gave him an apologetic grin before taking a step forward, dragging Asuna with him to her shout of dismay. Negi didn't have a chance to do anything before Matthew had snaked a hand behind him and lifted him by the scruff of his neck.

"Let me go!" Negi demanded, kicking at his captor.

Just as Asuna elicited a howl of pain from Matthew, a familiar voice interrupted the struggle "Glad to see you're all having fun"

"Chao-sama!" Matthew gasped in surprise and the pain of having his foot stepped on. In an instant, Negi found his feet back on the ground. Next to him, Asuna grumbled while massaging her arms, to Chao's smile.

"Drop the honorifics, Matthew; it doesn't suit you."

"Right," Matthew acknowledged sheepishly. It was only when he playfully bowed to her that Negi finally realized that they had been speaking in Japanese the whole time.

Asuna took the following moment of silence to yell, "Chao! Explain yourself!" Her words were accompanied by angry strides towards the still smiling Martian.

Before she got three steps towards her, however, she found herself dragged backwards as Matthew once again grabbed her, this time by the scruff of her neck.

"Let me go!" Asuna yelled, thrashing wildly.

"Why would I let you harm Chao-sama?" Matthew shot back.

"Chao-sama? How do you know her anyways?"

As the two argued, struggling for dominance, Negi walked over to Chao and said, "What are you doing here, Chao-san; what happened to the Queen? And how does he know you?"

Negi pointed to Matthew to make sure his second question would not be misinterpreted by his sly student.

"Wait a few more minutes, Negi-bouzo," Chao replied, "and your patience will be duly rewarded as soon as the others get here. Oh and there they are."

True enough, the trio consisting of the always smiling ninja, bubbly martial arts master, and cold gunslinger appeared at the Martian's words.

Ku Fei gave him a wave, yelling, "Negi-bouzo! Was it fun? I wish I had been fighting too."

"What do you mean by wish you had been fighting?" Negi asked back incredulously.

"Oh, sorry about that Negi-bouzo," Kaede apologized.

"The Queen was a fake," Mana finished for her.

"What? Fake?" Asuna exclaimed, kicking Matthew away from her. "How so?"

"All of the information we gave you was made up, sorry," Chao apologized.

"Sorry? That's all we get?" Asuna exclaimed as Negi thought, _'We…?'_

"Calm down Asuna-san," Konoka, with Setsuna's arm draped across her neck, interrupted her angry friend as Joshua followed after her.

"What are you two doing?" Asuna deadpanned as she saw the strange sight of Setsuna being supported by Konoka… and not the other way around.

"Loss of blood can sap your strength really quickly," Setsuna replied with an edge that warned Asuna of the consequences for further misinterpretations.

"Chao-sama!" Joshua exclaimed in surprise, quickly adding a weak salute to his words.

"Are we done here, Chao?" Mana asked tiredly to which Chao nodded. She proceeded to ignore the presence of the two new faces and her battered classmates as she announced, "Then I'll be leaving."

"I guess I'll go too, before I'm missed," Kaede added, following her classmate who had already started walking towards the tunnel.

"It's probably too late for that," Setsuna told her with a grimace, to which Kaede shrugged. In the end, Kaede found the time to wave to Joshua and Matthew before she left, grimacing in sympathy to Setsuna's wounds.

"Wait for me," Ku Fei shouted, giving Chao a wink before running after her friends.

"Have a safe trip!" Konoka shouted after them with good cheer.

With the trio gone, Negi refocused his attention on Chao.

"What do you mean by 'All of the information we gave you was made up?'" Negi asked.

Immediately, his student launched into an explanation. "There was no Queen, Chachamaru's scan was made up, and the whole tale was to get you convinced that there was another enemy, giving us an excuse to take another route. The other route opens up into an underground spring. The only truth was that I did hire Mana-san and asked Kaede-san and Ku Fei-chan to help out but as legitimate excuses to get you here," Chao listed.

"But… the golems," Negi stubbornly questioned.

"It was an illusion. Though the bats were summoned golems, only a handful of them were real. The rest were carbon copies made with a spell I paid Evangeline to cast. She takes bribes just like any other person when I hinted to her that her apprentice might have an opportunity to put what he learned into practice."

Negi frowned at the thought of his sadistic master playing with a wad of cash as she waited to see her apprentice's battered corpse. The image was quickly dispelled by another loud outburst from Asuna.

"Get to the point!"

Chao put up her hands in surrender and said, "So basically, Matthew and Joshua here are my acquaintances from the future."

"So that's what you meant by your time," Negi said to Matthew, finally confirming his suspicions.

"I set up this elaborate adventure because I needed you to come with me here and I had a suspicion that my subordinates would be held captive here."

Negi was bursting with questions, but, seeing this, Chao added, "I'll explain that point later."

"You would have been reluctant to come with me if you were told we were excavating artifacts from a cavern, either believing that I could retrieve them myself or denying the existence of such a place."

Negi did his best to deny it, but it was Konoka who came to his defense. "Negi-kun wouldn't do that. He's a master at giving other's the benefit of the doubt."

"Yeah; if you had dragged him along like most people do, we could have avoided this whole mess," Asuna 'helpfully' added.

Chao nodded, conceding the point but continued on. "I asked you to come because I need you to hold onto those two stones for me. Only those with a strong magical aura can even touch the two artifacts. For various reasons, we three from the future have had our natural magical abilities suppressed. Setsuna's aura is undeveloped and Asuna's is nonexistent because of her canceling attribute. The only two left are Konoka-san and you, Negi-bouzu."

"What's the catch?" Negi asked warily.

"Nothing you can't handle, but, with all due respect it might be a bit much for Konoka-san."

"What is it?" Negi asked again, though he knew he would probably end up accepting Chao's favor.

"A Pactio with a Demon," Chao replied nonchalantly.

The stunned silence that turn of events lasted quite awhile, and it was another few minutes before Asuna Konoka, Setsuna, and Negi could yell, "What?"

"It's only temporary though," Chao added as if that could relieve there horror any mediocre amount at all.

"Don't say that with a straight face or like you think that's any excuse for what you're proposing," Asuna sighed.

Chao felt her smile slipping, "Why, what's wrong?"

Asuna stared at her, shocked silent, as Setsuna demanded, "There's nothing wrong with forming a pact with a demon?"

Chao blinked once then laughed. "You've got the wrong idea!" she reassured them.

"How so…?" Negi muttered.

Unfortunately or fortunately, – Negi didn't know – Chao heard him and took it upon herself to explain, like she should have in the first place. "Though it is a pact with a demon, the demon itself won't be able to tell who, where, when, and why (but maybe **if**) the pact was even formed. The pact gives the mage a magical capacity increase, a physical boost, and also an artifact. Though there are some dark magic elements in the pact, it is balanced equally of what most term 'light magic.'

"A fitting description would be calling it a 'one-sided' pact. The only downfall of the contract is that it lights up the mage as a beacon that demons can sense from far distances, but that minor disadvantage can be suppressed."

"So to sum it all up," Setsuna began, "the Stones increase a mage's battle capability by giving him or her even more magic. But then, why does the mage have to have a large amount of magic if the contract gives the mage even more magic?"

"Unknown," Chao replied quickly.

"Why do you call it a pact with a demon when there is no demon involved?" Negi asked.

"Unknown," Chao quickly replied again. "All the information I have is from a tome I read in the future." It was obvious to all that her statement was her interrogators' cue to be satisfied with the answers given to them, but Asuna didn't want to take the hint.

"But it's still not risk free, right?" Asuna pressed.

Konoka snuck in a comment: "Nothing's risk free in life."

"No one asked you," Asuna replied sharply.

"As much as I love to just stand here and listen to everyone talk…" Matthew interrupted.

Joshua gave him a smack to the back of his head and said, "Pardon his rudeness, but might we talk with Chao-sama now? I believe you've asked a lot of questions for today."

"What are you, her manager?" Asuna snarled, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I understand," Negi quickly interjected before an argument started up. "I'll take the contract; what should I do?"

"You're not going to just believe her and do this, are you?" Asuna asked incredulously, not bothering to hide her concern.

Negi gently slid off the hand she had unconsciously put onto his shoulder in her worry and replied, "I believe in all my students, just as I believe in my partners."

Chao smile grew even broader. "Perfect!"

Then, she pointed to the glass case, "It's rather simple, really. Just go up and touch the glass. That's all you need to do. Everything will move by itself and you'll be done before you know it. Remember to bring the stones with you though."

Negi nodded, though he didn't understand what she meant by 'move by itself.' He started walking towards the large hexagonal case.

Setsuna took the chance to ask Chao, "I've been wondering, but why do you always refer to the Stones as a pair? Are they exactly alike or do they require that both of them be together to make them work?"

"It is precisely the latter; the Deity Stone produces half of the magical spectrum to balance the Demon Stone's other half, and vice versa."

"Spectrum of magic?" Konoka asked, intrigued. "What is that?"

"The elements of light, air, and water, darkness, earth, and fire," Chao intoned. "The basic categories of spell casting consist of these six elements. There are also subcategories such as the mixture of air and fire: thunder. The mixture of air and water: ice, would also be a subcategory; another example would be the mixture of light and darkness: shadow."

"That last one didn't sound that nice," Konoka commented to which Chao nodded sagely.

"Mixing opposite elements is not highly recommended, but a more volatile action would be to separate 'shadow' into light and darkness. Once together, it doesn't like being pulled apart."

"Alright, I'm going now," Negi called as he stopped in front of the two artifacts.

"Have a safe trip," Konoka called out, with good cheer like before, as he took one more step forward and touched the glass panel.

"Where am I?" Negi asked the yellow walls surrounding him, missing the more normal stone walls of the cavern already. The sudden transition of scenery had him confused. Strangely, the more he looked at the walls the more they seemed to be wrinkled. Adding that point to their color, Negi found that the walls looked time-faded like old photographs. But instead of dwelling of the matter, Negi decided to put the thought aside; he studied his surroundings.

Looking down he saw a complex magical circle that he noticed looked quite like a pactio circle. Looking up he found an ocean of stars that swirled and glittered in a soup of thick mist. Far behind the starry sky he found what appeared to be the sun… but further inspection made him shudder. He was sure of it; the 'sun' was an eye. Evidence supporting his conclusion made Negi shudder again when the eye blinked and disappeared.

"Ye brave of heart who dares disturb my sleep, speaketh thy name and utter thy purpose. What business have you with my liege?"

Negi started at the disembodied voice but before he could think of a reply, his mouth moved on its own. "Thy servant, Negi Springfield, wishes for a probationary contract to thy almighty liege."

"For what purpose?" the voice inquired

"Safekeeping of his heart and his mind," Negi's mouth replied. "To keep the two together wherever they might be."

Following his answer, there was a pause in which Negi struggled to move. However, His head was stiff, hands numb, feet planted to the ground, eyes riveted forward, and mouth glued shut. Though he tried his best to do otherwise, the only three actions he could perform were to breathe, to look forward, and to think.

He did all three, thinking about what his eyes saw and how the walls seemed to be getting farther away, distancing itself from him. Then, without warning, a spirit appeared in front of his eyes. It was not a gradual change where the outline of this humanoid being slowly came into focus; it was sudden, jarring, and shocking. A sudden flash of red and blue and there it was, faceless and emotionless as it hovered above the ground with power emanating from the brightly glowing core of its figure. Heat and a freezing cold assaulted Negi's senses at the same time, but his mouth, as it was, could not let loose the gasp that rattled in his teeth.

"Thy noble purpose," the spirit started without any movement of its faceless head, "has been acknowledged. The Lord entrusts thee his heart and mind knowing full well your origins. Prepared, though the lord is, by the betrayal he knows is soon to come, the lord puts his life in thine hands. Take heed of my liege's final words to thee, mortal. Let me trust one more time in the follow of mankind…"

Then, Negi's eyes snapped shut and he knew nothing more…

"**Negi! Negi, wake up. Don't just stand there Setsuna-san, smack him or something!"**

"**Are you sure that's wise, Asuna-san?"**

"**I'm worried Secchan. I'm sure Negi-kun won't mind if we save him from some sort of terrible fate."**

"**Yes, Ojou-sama."**

"**Chao, I'm going to kill… wait, where did she go?"**

"**Chao-san, what are you doi – Secchan, watch out!"**

**- To be Continued…**

**Author's Note: **The order of this chapter is switched on purpose and that's final. Sorry for the wait; hopefully, the next chapter will be quicker to write and soon on the way.

Reviews are welcome, suggestions considered, flames ignored, and unreasonable demands for anything above my rating... hated and scorned, tossed into the fire to burn, **and that would still be too good for it.**


	6. Resolving the Adventure

**Disclaimer:** Negima! is not owned by anyone on unless said person is Ken Akamatsu in disguise… which translates to mean **ownership is not mine.** But… all OCs created by my words, taken from my ideas, and put onto paper are mine and only mine.

**Notes: **As of this chapter, I'll be referring to Setsuna as Set-chan in all future chapters. In a strange bout of inconsistency, I replaced Set-chan with Secchan in the previous chapter. On other note, I apologize for my mistake. It seems the page breaks I use do not show up on Fanfiction and I only just realized this now. That's probably why many of you were confused on some chapters and felt that the flow was choppy. From this Chapter on, new page breaks will be implemented.

"Speech."

'_Thoughts.'_

"**Spells."**

**Termination of Spirit: Contract's Initiation**

**Chapter Six: A Long Flight**

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"**Negi! Negi, wake up. Don't just stand there Setsuna-san, smack him or something!"**

"**Are you sure that's wise, Asuna-san?"**

"**I'm worried Set-chan. I'm sure Negi-kun won't mind if we save him from some sort of terrible fate."**

"**Yes, Ojou-sama."**

"**Chao, I'm going to kill… wait, where did she go?"**

"**Chao-san, what are you doi – Set-chan, watch out!"**

Setsuna flew back quite a long distance though she managed to block Chao's kick with her arms. Slowed by shock and confusion, Setsuna reflexively leaped back as Chao threw a few half-hearted punches and kicks her way.

Setsuna landed softly but her stumble afterwards belied the grace of her movements. Falling to one knee, she had to brace her body against the ground with a hand, having not yet recovered from her previous injuries. Konoka ran over to her and swung Setsuna's hand over her shoulder though the swordswoman protested the help, radiating distress in her exaggerated actions. "What are you doing, Chao-san?" Konoka demanded incredulously, a hint of anger in her tone.

Asuna nodded emphatically. "It doesn't matter what your reasons are, attacking a friend was uncalled for!"

"Now Asuna-san, before you rip my throat out, let me make it clear that had I really attacked Setsuna-san, she would not have been able to block my kick in the state she's in," Chao wagged a finger in an infuriating manner. Asuna clenched her fists as the Martian continued with hand gestures for every sentence. "Also, think for a moment: would Setsuna-san have stopped if I told her to? There wasn't enough time to explain my intent, was there? If she had ignored me and touched our dear teacher then it would have been too little too late."

"Are you quite done?" Asuna bit out through clenched teeth. Without waiting for a reply, she shouted, "If you are, then explain yourself and your actions. Why hasn't Negi moved an inch since he touched that strange contraption? And what do you mean by too late?"

Chao ignored her and turned towards Konoka, asking, "Do you feel his aura?" The girl looked at her in confusion.

"Chao," Asuna started warningly but a cold smile froze shut her mouth.

Konoka deigned to answer a moment later. "It flares brightly and then disappears the next moment," she said.

"Exactly," Chao exclaimed in triumph, pumping a fist in the air. "Negi-bozu's body is still adjusting to the inflow of magic. A touch from another source could be potentially fatal for both involved."

"But I can't use magic," Setsuna interrupted angrily, gently easing away from Konoka.

"And I don't have any!" Asuna added with a shout.

Now able to stand without help, Setsuna stared indignantly at Chao, hidden challenge in her posture as she unconsciously nursed her throbbing arms.

"Wrong and wrong again," Chao smiled benignly. "Everyone has a source of magic within, though they might not be able to use it. Setsuna-san has an internal magic source just like you have an internal source of Ki, Asuna-san, and though you may have the famed magic canceller, that doesn't mean you don't have magic. It just means magic with ill-intent will never reach you."

"Chao-sama," Joshua spoke up where he had been watching the scene with Matthew. "It seems he's waking up."

His sudden presence in the conversation surprised the three girls along with Chao's quick nod of affirmation. Though they would never admit it aloud, they felt snubbed that the Martian was the only one that did not show even a hint of surprise.

"Ah, perfect!" Chao exclaimed, walking over to Negi who seemed to be stirring. "Awaken brave friend. How was the trip?"

Negi groaned and blinked, withdrawing his fingers from the glass panel. He mumbled his confusion and reached up to rub his eyes clear of his grogginess with the back of his hands. As he did so, a bright light lit up from within the hexagonal magical construct and two objects shot into his hands. Negi was so surprised that he fell backwards onto the hard cavern floor, blinking at the sudden appearance of two stones now resting in his hands.

Chao offered him a hand and he took it gratefully… or rather, tried to take it.

"These stones… I can't let go!" Negi panicked.

"Slip them in your pockets," Chao suggested and, finding that it worked, pulled him up.

As Negi stood, something slipped out from his pocket and floated slowly to the ground. Negi reached down and picked it up and a strange sight met his eyes when he gave it his attention. The card depicted a figure wearing a hooded, shadow-like cloak, three spheres of light circling around its body. It took a moment before he could recognize the figure in question as the clothes shown underneath the cloak, the partially hidden face, and the familiar lightning bolt-shaped staff given to him by his father.

'_It's me!'_ he breathed to himself in recognition.

Aloud, he apprehensively read the title. **"The Nullifying Magician," **he read, a slight quaver in his voice as it carried the words through the cavernous room, echoing eerily soft.

Chao whistled, leaning over his shoulder. "That's an interesting contract card you have there. I wonder what artifact will pop out of that thing. Demonic is the virtue… yep, nothing's wrong with that."

"Nothing's wrong with being demonic – and how is that a virtue?" Asuna cried out as if the world would end with the declaration. "Go to the hospital Chao-san, you urgently need an inspection!"

Chao waved her off said, "Well, that wraps it all up folks. Thanks for coming and I hope you had a great time." Asuna threw a punch in her direction.

"That's it?" Negi asked. He was a little disappointed. There were so many questions he had stored up that he felt like he would burst.

"I'm afraid so, Negi-bozu. Now, I'm pretty sure you don't want your students worrying about you, eh? Better hurry on back."

"Ah, that's right!" Asuna exclaimed. "That shotacon woman will never let me hear the end of it if she found out I was down here with Negi!" A look of disgust at the word shotacon crossed her face before it was replaced with a wince. "No offense intended of course," she added to Negi as an after-thought.

Konoka pulled Setsuna after her as she struggled to catch up to her speedy friend. "Come on, Set-chan," she urged. "We have to beat Asuna-san back to camp!"

"Why?" was all Setsuna could exclaim before she was bodily dragged into the tunnels.

"What about you, Chao-san?" Negi asked as his friends disappeared from sight.

"Joshua, Matthew, and I have a lot to catch up on. In fact, ages worth," she smiled. "See you later," she added and pushed him towards the exit before the torches and the lights were suddenly extinguished.

Negi looked back once before he hurried after his friends…

**End Dream/Flashback Sequence**

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Simply expressed, Negi sighed.

'_I could have gotten more rest in a zoo…' _was the prevalent thought above all thoughts.

Ever since they had boarded the Yukihiro Association's private jet to fly back to Japan, there had been nothing but noise. Not even his comfortable first class couch could relieve the tension from having to listen to a blend of excited yells, screams, and occasional yelps for the long ride back to Mahora Academy. Even the headphones, provided by Chisame in a fit of pity, could not block the clamor.

Overall, it might have been more tolerable for Negi if the din had a boring consistency to it: the same sounds repeating invariably. Unfortunately for the child mage, that was not the case. Every few minutes, the noise level would change in an unpredictable pattern, and it was all because of one Ayaka Yukihiro.

She meant well and all, but the Class President's inconsistent pleas for quiet on Negi's behalf did more harm than good. One second, the group would be obnoxiously loud… then in the next, mysteriously subdued. It was akin to listening to a loudspeaker drum incomprehensible words pass your bleeding eardrums and then experiencing a sudden, shiver-inducing drop of noise that ended up becoming minutes of ominous silence, followed by apprehensive whispering, and then reverting back to varying degrees of chaos once again.

Fortunately for Negi, the most disconcerting part of the journey had already passed a few hours ago, when he had woken up to three pairs of angry eyes glaring at him. The plane seemed much smaller when he became suddenly and uncomfortably aware of a certain princess snuggling against him, cutely asleep. His complaints fell on deaf ears as Asuna pulled out her giant fan, unfazed by several incredulous gasps at the sudden appearance of the weapon, and smacked Negi several feet across the room where he was pinned to the ground by a sword. He dared not move for Yunagi was a mere inch from his throat. A murderous aura choked his breath away as Setsuna added a glare which bore a hole into his forehead. Suddenly bereft of his own part in the acts of divine retribution, Kotarou did his best to peer over Setsuna's shoulder with narrowed eyes, careful not to touch the quivering swordswoman for fear of the wrath and gore that might follow.

Just in time, Konoka rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up, woken by the noise and her lack of a warm pillow. She yawned and her gaze focused on the spectacle with no comprehension in her dull orbs. "Shouldn't you do that somewhere else?" she asked amidst the silence and rapt attention of all involved.

"Do that… somewhere else?" Setsuna repeated in confusion.

Konoka yawned again and stated, "I don't think Negi-sensei wants to be made a man in public."

Kotarou watched as Asuna broke out in uncontrollable laughter and Setsuna immediately leaped away from the blushing child teacher as if Negi had the plague. With a head cocked in confusion, Kotarou finally managed to whisper to Negi, "Is she drunk?" Of course, Negi could only sigh and shrug in reply.

--------------------------------------------------

"So let me get this straight."

The interrogation began ten minutes after the spectacle. The audience was full, all the students without jobs watched in either glee or disinterest as the court began in full swing with Judge Mana presiding. Prosecutor Asuna stated the facts for all to hear: "You were caught red-handed sleeping with Kono - _("Objection!" came from several people at once.)_ - don't interrupt! Ahem… next to Konoka this morning at… whatever time it was ten minutes ago. Furthermore, you plead innocent against the mounds of evidence against you. What do you have to say to that?" With a grin of triumph Asuna slammed her hands onto the coffee table where Defendant Negi was sitting next to his Defense Team of Yue and Nodoka.

"Objection," Yue replied calmly in her usual monotone. "The Prosecution has no right to slander my client and should direct her untruthful comments to the jury." Said jury – Haruna, Ayaka, Setsuna, Ako, Chao, and Akira – cheered. At least, Haruna cheered most enthusiastically, loud enough to cover the other girls' worth.

Mana nodded silent affirmation to Yue's statement and produced a sputtering reaction from Asuna as an added bonus. In a fit of sullen disappointment, Asuna muttered, "What kind of makeshift court would allow an excuse for a jury like this to exist? Oh right, the people I'm talking to."

"Minus points for the prosecution!" Ayaka exclaimed, standing up. "I heard what you said you monkey, but since this is a unified class that maintains order within our own ranks, there was no choice but to appoint officials from our talented crew who hold varying talents."

"I'm not a monkey!" Asuna shouted in embarrassment and anger. She took a deep, calming breath, and then added, "Nice speech and all, but-"

"Silence!" Ayaka boomed. "I'm not done yet!" Half the audience yelped and Negi winced at the volume. He received an apologetic smile for his effort. "What kind of a jury is this, you asked?"

"And I'm regretting every word I said," Asuna said very clearly.

Ayaka continued unfazed: "This jury is one that represents every group of our class! I give you Haruna from the associated book fanatics, Setsuna from the martial artist four (three if we don't include our very competent judge), Akira from the jocks _("I resent that!" Yuna shouted)_, Chao from the geniuses of our class, Ako from those who we should consider more normal, and I, Ayaka Yukihiro and Class President of Class 3-A who represent the sophisticated few who have a mandate under Negi-sensei to bring order to this little world of misfits and freaks."

A long silence followed her speech. Then, all hell broke loose.

First, a hint of emotion reached Yue's normally calm demeanor in the form of a twitching eyebrow. Could it be... possibly… anger? No, impossible.

Next, an angry mob threatening to hurt if not mortally endanger Ayaka tried to physically rip her apart.

And finally, Asuna decided to intervene; that's all it took to turn the brawl into a slaughter.

With her harisen, Asuna beat back all intruders off the court's premises (which extended to little less than four feet from the walls) and then knocked Ayaka out with a back-handed swing, sending her flying into a soft couch. "Why does it feel like everyone is intoxicated today?" she asked no one in particular.

"Hey, Asuna-san used a big word!"

"Die, Negi!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Negi sighed in relief that it had all ended well, with him receiving only a few minor bruises from the ordeal, and with the whole thing working out in the end. The jury announced their verdict of 'not guilty' after Konoka's ascension to the witness stand.

'_All's well that ends well would have ended better if it had never begun,'_ Negi thought as he rubbed a sore shoulder, not really understanding the philosophy that had just spilled from his mind.

In the end, Negi felt he had no choice but to inconspicuously watch the news if he didn't want to add death to his growing repertoire of small wounds. Thus, he focused his attention on the big screen monitor of the jet's television, hoping to bore himself to sleep. To his chagrin, the steady tones of the reporter had instead drowsed Nodoka, Natsumi, and Ako away, most of whom were usually quiet anyways so it didn't help the overall noise level a single bit.

All other students were engaged in their own activities. Haruna, Yue, Asuna, Konoka, Ayaka, and Asakura formed a debate group while the cheerleaders did what they did best along with enthusiastic noise from Makie, the twins, and Sayo, whose faint, echoing cheers sent shivers up their spines. Chao and her group of inventors experimented with the plane's kitchen while Ku Fei and Kaede once again served as taste-testers. The only people remaining in the same compartment as Negi who made no noise were Zazie, who juggled the free decks of cards and complimentary peanuts in an ever growing circle, and Mana, who stoically polished her guns. The rest slept.

To Negi, it seemed as if he had been completely ignored. It was good in a sense, and saddening in another. All regrets were laid to rest, however, when he saw a familiar sight on the news.

"Mahora?" he muttered under his breath.

Intrigued, Negi adjusted his seat and its settings _('Technology these days…') _and plugged in Chisame's headphones.

A clear voice reached his ears and, judging from the tone and the wild gestures on the big screen, the man was highly excited. "We have determined that two rival groups of reporters have infiltrated the prestigious community of escalator academy of Mahora, which houses several of the star competitors of the Mahora Fighting Tournament. As of now, the authorities on both sides – outside the school and inside the school – have been able to do nothing about this unexpected intrusion.

"The most probable reason for the risks the reporters are taking stem from the strange events that have started occurring inside the campus. Sightings of ghosts, dark shadows, feral animals, and other strange happenings have been reported by students and staff alike. Mysterious lights, rattling noises and pounding on the doors at night, flickering lamps, and rumors of monsters under the school grounds have sparked the interest of several other organizations whose teams are underway in sneaking in as we speak. Unfortunately, that is all we have for today, but it won't be long before we have more for you all."

'_Sounds like something magical…' _Negi shivered as the news wrapped up and turned to the weather. An apprehension wriggled its slimy way to Negi's core.

A chime broke into the loud rumblings of conversation, halting the jumbled voices immediately. Negi was about to cheer silently in gratitude when the pilot announced, "Passengers, please excuse the interruption but we will be encountering heavy turbulence in the next few minutes. Unfortunately, it is an estimated and hour and a half before we will be able to land due to… unknown circumstances on campus."

'_Watch the T.V.!'_ Negi gave the pilot a mental suggestion.

By then, most of those asleep had woken up by themselves or been woken up by their friends. To the clicks of seatbelts fastening and rising voices, Negi exclaimed, "Campus?"

His gaze found Ayaka who took it upon herself to say, "Didn't you know, Negi-sensei? Mahora has its own airfield and landing strip."

"Eh!"

--------------------------------------------------

"He's gaining on us!" Setsuna warned the others, acting as rear guard.

"Look, there's the forest!" Konoka shouted in reply. "We're almost there." The tree line grew in Negi's view as he drifted behind his partners.

'_It's this dream again…'_

"Hey, are you sure about this?" Chisame asked the others, keeping up easily despite her tendency to stay indoors.

"Yeah," Haruna agreed. "What's to keep that demon from just killing us to be done with it?"

"Don't waver," Asuna said to the others, "As much as I hate to admit it, that chibi vampire is the only one who can put up a decent fight with that fiend, now that Ojii-san is…"

"Ojou-sama…" Setsuna muttered sadly, laying a hand on Konoka's shoulder as they ran to offer some support. Tears fell unrestricted down Konoka's face, dampening her cheeks and subduing the rest of the group with her grief.

Negi listened careful, sure that to miss what came next would be a grave mistake.

"We'll have time to mourn later," Yue interrupted. "Talking will only waste precious energy."

"Ayase-san!" Chisame reprimanded but before she could scold her emotionless comrade, Konoka shook her head.

"She's right," Konoka amended. "Grandfather will understand if we mourn later. We have to keep going and make sure that no one else falls to Negi… no, the demon that's following us. We can't let their deaths be in vain!"

'_Mourn later… what does that mean?'_ Negi thought grimly, certain he would not like the answer.

Chisame sighed, and despite the situation smiled grimly to herself with an inward fury and an outward shrug. "If you say so…"

"He's too close!" Nodoka yelped after chancing a look behind.

'_Watch out!'_ Negi shouted in warning though he knew his words would fall upon deaf ears.

Though he could feel the warmth of the rising flames behind and the chilling air of the forest and night, Negi was not shaken by the earthquake that threw his friends to the floor.

"Earth Magic!" Nodoka exclaimed as Dream-Negi snapped a command that produced an enormous rumbling and cracking earth.

Asuna skidded a few feet as the ground rose beneath her, a spire of hard rock replacing the path she had been sitting on a moment before. Likewise, other spires and pillars of earth had risen up to block the group from venturing further into the forest. She shakily stood and turned around. Her eyes met those of the doppelganger and narrowed in anger. Asuna reached into a pocket as her companions followed her lead and stood upright, shivering in apprehension and fear.

"Your artifact, Honya!" Asuna shouted as she pulled out her own card. "Use it! What is that thing planning to do?"

"R-Right," Nodoka acknowledged, pulling her own card out and yelling out, **"Adeat!"**

With a puff of smoke, Nodoka's mind-reading book appeared and settled into her hands. A grim smile touched Asuna's lips as she experimentally swung free her weapon, the demon banishing blade slicing the air effortlessly in front of her. Setsuna followed suit and unsheathed Yunagi as well as pulling a fan out of her boot. Behind the two close-ranged fighters, the rest of the group pulled out practice wands.

Negi noticed that Chisame alone was left out of the fighting. A closer inspection found a conspicuous pocket bulging with three square objects, which she patted unconsciously, shifting it from Dream-Negi's direct view. As the others prepared to fight, she backed up and looked around for a path through the rocks that the doppelganger's spell had disrupted. Ever the noble one and a good judge of character, Negi assumed that she was looking for a route in which they could escape if the situation came to the worst-case scenario.

"Asuna-san!" Nodoka shouted in dismay, bringing Negi's attention back to the battle that was inching ever closer.

Before another word could leave Nodoka's lips, Dream-Negi snapped out a word which Negi, once again, could not make out. The effect was instantaneously evident. Nodoka and Yue crumpled instantly, Haruna and Konoka following soon after. Four faint tendrils of glowing light attached to the four girls' chests where the heart should be, linking them to Dream-Negi's palm. The strings pulsed in red, green, and blue as something flowed from the girls to the dream Negi. Nodoka's artifact disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Setsuna and Asuna's blades plunged into the cracked ground to reinforce their weight as the same strange immaterial tendrils attached themselves to their chest. "What… what's this?" Asuna stammered in pain.

From Negi's viewpoint, only Chisame was unfazed by the strange attack. She had not been touched at all, presumably because of the further distance where she stood. Negi presumed wrong.

A specter of a tendril darted towards Chisame without anyone's notice. The others were too busy dealing with their own form of the attack. In addition, the faint color of the tendril could hardly be seen.

To say Chisame was surprised was playing it down when the tendril reached her. Unlike its companions, however, the tendril did not successfully attach to Chisame, but was, instead, repelled by an invisible barrier with a bright flash of light. In her shock, Chisame stumbled against a rocky spire and tripped. As she hit the ground, the objects in her pocket tumbled out.

With a whip-like movement, Dream-Negi focused his attention onto the objects just as Negi himself noticed the stone objects glowing and pulsating with energy on the ground. They recognized them and both of their mouths moved soundlessly, one in glee and one in shock, as Chisame quickly stuffed them back into her pocket.

The doppelganger took a step forward but a quick movement stopped him in his tracks. A white object streaked into the middle of the scene and blinding light streaked from it to all the girls affected by the assault of the tendrils of light. Where it reached one, a magic circle formed quickly underneath and split in half. The tension left Haruna, Nodoka, Yue, Konoka, and Setsuna's stiff forms as they caught their breaths in relief. A frown marred Dream-Negi's face as he took another step forward.

"Ermine!" Asuna exclaimed, sinking to the ground. She clenched her teeth, gripped her blade, and with sheer force of will, pulled herself back upright, straining with the effort.

"It's Chamo!" the familiar animal corrected irritably. "That's the thanks I get for breaking your pactios?"

It seemed that those words were the worst that the ermine could have uttered at the moment as looks of shock and horror flitted across each of the girls. Negi also felt a sickening sensation and bile rose to his throat. _'What could I have done that would force Chamo-kun to do such a thing?'_

Then, it all clicked. Konoka's tears, the whole conversation about mourning. _'Did I… could I have… killed the Headmaster?'_

"Why don't I feel any better then?" Asuna demanded.

"The pactio breaking spell couldn't get through your magic canceller barrier. Technically, breaking a pactio is a bad thing for a partner so your barrier negated it." Chamo spoke over Asuna's next question, "That guy's magic is attached to you so it had a direct line to travel through. That's why his energy drain is still functioning."

"Energy drain," Setsuna muttered.

"But isn't he a fake Negi?" Asuna asked in consternation. "Why would we be connected to him by our pactios? For that matter, why does my pactio still work?"

"Ehrm… talk later, he's coming!"

"Setsuna-san!" Asuna growled as a cue, shrugging off her fatigue and dashed forward.

A mighty swing swept the air clean of the doppelganger's presence as it retreated urgently. In contrast, Asuna pressed forward, forcing her opponent two steps back for every step and swing she took. Though none landed or even grazed the demonic being, each sidestep, duck, dodge, and evasion forced it back away from the other, more vulnerable, members of their group.

Asuna let out a shout of triumph as she lunged forward with a thrust. Her opponent predictably slid backwards and a relieved smile reached Asuna's lips as she continued running forward. No matter how far it slid back, Asuna could run farther.

Thus, when the doppelganger stopped sliding, Asuna thought she had won. Instead of the desired result, however, she found her feet unable to step forward no matter how she strained them. "Eh?" was all she could say before she was thrown bodily, sword and all, by the grip the demon had on the flat of her blade. Even as Asuna flew through the air, Dream-Negi faced another danger.

Setsuna attacked from behind, taking an opportunistic slash at his back. With inhuman reflexes, the doppelganger leapt over her blade. A scowl accompanied Setsuna's next move, swinging her fan at the airborne demon. Slim but sharp needles flew from hidden sheathes within the fan, following Dream-Negi's path through the air. His magic barrier took care of it easily, repelling the needles to the ground.

"This time around you die!" Asuna shouted as her feet left the ground from which she had landed, spinning around once in the air before slamming down her blade in a massive swing.

A loud clang rent the air, simultaneously sending numbness up Asuna's arms from the impact her blade had made with the doppelganger's spear. A cry of frustration followed the clash as Asuna pushed herself away from the spear-wielding demon. "Why won't you die?"

Dream-Negi replied by smashing her to the ground with the shaft of his spear.

"**Zankuusen (Air-Cleaving-Flash)****!"**

Dream-Negi dropped to the ground in sudden free-fall, dodging under the Ki-infused projectile with ease.

"One more time!" Setsuna growled, swinging her Ki-infused blade with a roar.

The doppelganger prepared to jump but a hand snaked out and gripped his ankle firmly, holding his heel to the ground. Asuna gave him a grin before Dream-Negi's figure disappeared in a bright flash of light and smoke.

Asuna rolled out of the explosion and coughed out some of the dust that had gotten into her mouth, wiping her eyes and nose on back of a sleeve. She stood up as she peered into the dust for the body of her opponent. A grin lit her face as Setsuna waved to her, confident of his demise. Relieved sighs filled the air from the girls who had recovered enough to stand.

Then, the dust started to clear.

A sudden movement, a shadowy figure, was all the warning that Setsuna had before a foot sent her flying away, skidding across the ground from the force of the strike. Blood left a trail behind her from the numerous cuts from her bare skin being rubbed raw by the friction.

"Setsuna!" Asuna and Konoka cried at the same time, a dark energy swirling around the former while the latter tried to rush forward only to be held back by Haruna.

Magic and Ki swirled around Asuna in quantities large and concentrated enough to be seen by naked eyes.

'_Magic Ki Synthesis, Kanka!' _Negi thought. _'There's no mistaking it. It's what Takamichi used on me, and what Asuna-san used during the tournament!'_

Asuna disappeared.

'_Sh-Shundo?' _Negi exclaimed to himself,_ 'This might be a dream… but it's a little too much!' _

Dream-Negi blocked the blow, effortless in motion, but he was still blown away by the sheer force of the strike. Asuna launched forward in a long leap after the flying figure whose blood she had to spill in order to satiate her rage.

With a loud yell, Asuna brought back her blade and swung. As the large weapon cleaved downward in an indiscriminate path of destruction, Dream-Negi's hands twitched, tugging on something not visible.

Negi, from his bystander's point of view, watched as Setsuna flew halfway across the battle field, led by invisible strings. Dream-Negi flipped upright as he flew and slammed his spear into the ground, halting his movement. A moment later, Asuna's blade struck with such force that the ground cried in protest and broke in pain. Following immediately after, Setsuna – with no choice but to brace for impact – smashed into the stalemate, blade first.

Asuna, her steel blade, Setsuna, and Yunagi flew in four different directions.

Asuna struggled to get back up but froze when the sharp tip of Dream-Negi's spear stopped an inch away from her vulnerable throat. Words hissed from the demon's mouth, freezing Asuna's body, draining away her resistance.

The doppelganger pulled the spear back, preparing to ram it into the unmoving girl.

Then, something knocked the spear from Dream-Negi's hands and a familiar sight met the eyes of all those present.

"Asuna-kun, are you alright?" the man asked with his ever-present smile.

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"Takamichi," Negi breathed in the silence of the dorm room, grateful for being able to hear the sound of his voice. He lay there in the silence for awhile more, listening to the slow, careful breaths of the people sleeping under him and to his side. He waited for his breath to slow and his heart to finish its marathon. It wasn't until the shadows sullenly faded away that Negi took one last calming breath and got up.

The night was still in power, but slivers of sunlight threatened to overthrow the moon and crown the sun as king. In the next few moments, he was up and out the door having finished changing in the washroom he shared with Asuna and Konoka. Peering through the crack of the door, Negi made sure that his roommates were still asleep before closing it shut with a faint, almost inaudible click.

The frown didn't leave his face as she strode quickly through the dormitory halls nor did it fade away when the sun brightened his pale face. With a yawn and grogginess plagued eyes, Negi took in the familiar buildings of Mahora with a grim grin, the specters of his dream only just starting to fade. Trusty class roster in hand, he took a few more deep breaths as he walked and then broke into a jog.

The simple exercise cleared his mind and organized the clutter of his thoughts, releasing some of the stress and tension from his shoulders as he eased into a comfortable lope. He wiped his eyes wit the back of a hand as he completed a lap through a street of lethargic stores. Moments after he reached the station and found the train that would take him to the middle school section of the Academy campus. Without hesitation, he stepped on and nodded to the girls within as he took a position standing near the door.

Despite the nature of the hour, students were already chattering and laughing though it was very much subdued compared to the chaos of his students. Of course, his rowdy class was an exception.

Negi didn't feel like smiling after his nightmare, thoughts still held within the grip of the uncertain future, but he pasted one on for appearances. Laughing was clearly out of the question, but determined to have at least some peace of mind, he let out a long, drawn out sigh.

Quiet giggling at a corner of car belied the calm and normalcy of the scene before Negi's eyes. Though he would have picked another topic to ponder, Negi was reminded of the various rumors flying around campus. The day before, when Class 3-A had arrived at night, Takamichi warned him of the state of matters after arriving at the airstrip with a big welcome to Negi and students. Pulling him aside after most of the girls had dispersed to their rooms, Takamichi had discussed with him some mind-wearying topics.

Rumor had it that Negi Springfield, supposed child genius, was nothing more than a mascot for Mahora to attract more students. People whispered of his inability to teach and of the loud chaotic yells that often issued from his classroom. Yes, the latter of the two was correct, but not for lack of skill on Negi's part. Still, many people sympathized with the idea that he was being taken advantage of by his students and fellow staff members. It was true in one sense, but the evolving rumors of late had the audacity to going so far as to including some things that had made Negi's ears burn at the time. Even now, he had to hide a blush as he felt the scrutiny of more curious glances.

These obvious lies did not have much affect on Negi's everyday life but there were things more worrying that Takamichi had mentioned: large flocks of carrion crows and hordes of disguised imps covering the old clock tower and taller buildings at all times of the day, disappearing pets, specters in some of the derelict buildings, mysterious sounds near the World Tree, and a sudden increase in the dangers of the surface level sections of Library Island's dungeons.

Negi shook the morbid thoughts out of his head as the train pulled to a stop. A chime signaled the doors to slide open and the passengers to disembark. Before the station had emptied even a fraction of the train's passengers, an unnatural wind had already sped through, ruffling the winter cloaks and skirts of several of the female students.

A quick sprint later, mind somewhat cleared once again, Negi looked up at the administrative building which coincidentally also housed Negi's classroom. Once inside, he let the smile plastered to his face slip, discarding the mask completely. At a sedate pace, he strolled through the empty hallways to his classroom to await the first students of the day. He winced at the thought of class; that was hours of dealing with thirty-one jet-lagged, sleep-deprived female students in one day.

"Negi-kun, having troubles so early in the morning?"

The child teacher jumped, whirling around to find the Headmaster following in his trail. Negi's shock was quickly hidden though a sharp stab of pain in his heart tried to dispel his fabricating illusion. "Headmaster," he stammered out, reequipping his mask. "You surprised me."

"Good morning, Negi-kun. Couldn't sleep?" the old man asked good-naturedly, smiling all the while.

"Something akin to that," Negi admitted, mentally shaking off the dirty rags that came to mind.

Noticing his discomfort, the Headmaster changed the subject. "So, how was your trip?"

"Al-Alright I guess," Negi answered, following the old man's cue to continued walking. "At least, it was fun during those parts that I wasn't in any danger."

"Parts?" the Headmaster inquired slyly. "I remember only assigning you one mission, Negi-kun?"

"E-Eh?" Negi stiffened, his smile weakly quivering. A wide grin broke out across Konoemon's face. "It's a joke, Negi-kun," he said, to which Negi sighed inwardly in relief.

Before the Headmaster could make another joke at his expense, Negi stopped walking, bowed, and said, "Thank you for allowing Eva-san to come on the trip. Hopefully it wasn't too much trouble."

"It wasn't that much trouble. Writing essays is not nearly as hard as the tedious motion of stamping papers. In fact, it was a good mental exercise," he said enthusiastically, earning him a weak chuckle. He cleared his throat and said, "But I have more pressing matters to talk to you about. Come now."

"H-Hai," Negi replied, speeding up his pace to match the increase in the Headmaster's speed. So intent on putting one foot in front of the other, Negi did not notice Shizuna until the Headmaster greeted, "Ah, Shizuna-san, good morning." Negi's head shot up, jump-starting to blindly search for the words his mouth tried to produce. "G-Good morning, Shizuna-sensei," he bit out.

"Good morning, Negi-sensei," she greeted back with a wide smile, opening the door for the two to enter. She stood in a corner of the room as the two other staff members conducted their business.

Inside the familiar room that was the Headmaster's office, Negi stood ill at ease before the Headmaster as the old man sat comfortably in his soft-backed chair.

"We have four new transfer students this term, Negi-kun," the Headmaster began, "which means you'll be adding one more girl to your class effective as of today. Now, I know that you already have enough trouble with your… rowdy class and your apprenticeship under Evangeline-kun," he held up a hand to ward off Negi's dismay at his knowledge of the apprenticeship, "but this is a special case. And yes, I know many things about your current state of affairs; it's probably more than you would like, but if I didn't, how could I ever be seen as the head of this school?" He cleared his throat quite complacently and continued his little speech. "Thus, I would like you to be here when the new students arrive, a little ways from now." Here, he turned to Shizuna and said, "Meanwhile, please see to it that Negi-kun is perfectly fit. You have permission to use the special equipment as long as nothing untoward happens to Negi-kun. We wouldn't want our resident child teacher to be sick on his first day back, would we?"

The Headmaster dismissed them with a warm smile and then turned to a large folder in which Negi could only assume were more appointments for setting up her granddaughter with that special someone. Konoka would complain later today, but Negi was quite fine with that; it meant everything was settling down back to a sense of normalcy after the hectic adventure he'd been pulled into at Wales. The heavy weight in his pockets said otherwise.

It was only after he had allowed Shizuna to usher him through a side door that Negi asked, "Aren't we going to the Nurse's Office?"

Shizuna gave him a charming smile and replied, "It's a little too far away for our time restraints because the students will be here shortly. Besides, the equipment sent from the Homeland can only be kept here in my office, being magical in nature."

"So this is your office?" Negi said in awe. He realized he had never actually seen Shizuna working anywhere but the Nurse's Office and sometimes strolling through the halls on an errand or medical call. The room was small and simple. There was a bed for a patient's rest, a wooden desk with neatly stacked papers on top and a few personal items, a mirror on one wall, and a window on the other.

"Mhmm," Shizuna nodded as she motioned Negi to sit on the bed and sank gracefully into a swiveling chair positioned in front of the wooden desk. She pulled open a drawer and retrieved the several items that Negi had never seen before. They included a slim eyepiece, a pointed object akin to a needle, and a pocket-watch.

Negi was already interested in how the equipment worked and decided to study the eyepiece firs.

Noticing his interest, Shizuna decided to explain, "This eyepiece is just what it looks like on the outside: a ring encircling a circular lens attached to a silver chain. However, the ring is inscribed with miniature inscriptions and the lens is made of a special shatter-resistant material that is durable and imbued with the property to allow its user to view a person's magic aura. You, of course, know all about auras from your training as a mage, correct?"

Negi nodded.

"Alright then, let's see how your aura looks before we do anything more…" she trailed off, holding the eyepiece to her eyes and turning it as if focusing the lens in a microscope. A second later, she let go of it and against the laws of gravity, it hovered in front of her right eye. With preparations set, she squinted through it and commenced the visual check-up.

A few seconds of scrutiny had Negi feeling more nervous and uneasy than any doctor's appointment he had ever had. He labeled it as one of two things. It was either fear of the unknown or fear of Chao and her secrets.

Shizuna gave him a slight frown and a business-like disposition seemed to take over the adult as she professionally asked, "Have you been in contact with any evil spirits of the Fourth Tier or higher, been cursed, performed a high level summoning spell, or dealt with a demon without adequate protection?"

Negi blinked and stammered out, "I don't think so… why?"

Shizuna shook her head and smiled. "Standard questions," she told him. "Other than a slight shift in your aura from time to time, you are perfectly fine. But if you or another magically aware person notices your aura becoming unfocused or almost wild you are to send me a message immediately. It's probably a false alarm, but your aura could be becoming more chaotic with your exposure to so many dangerous adventures. I could be wrong of course," she ended with another reassuring smile. Negi didn't feel quite as assured as Shizuna obviously felt he ought to be.

"Next test," she announced, explaining as she worked. "This needle works just like one at your local doctor's office. But instead of taking a sample of blood, it takes a sample of your magical aura. It has spell cast that lines the inside of the container with the ability to capture and retain a small magic source without fear of degradation or implosion. You might feel a slight tingle but it'll just take a second."

Without further ado, she pierced the air next to Negi's neck with the needle and pressed the lever, drawing Negi's aura into the container. Negi shivered violently and winced, biting his lip and quivering in pain until Shizuna quickly withdrew the sharp object. "Are you alright?" she asked in concern.

Negi rubbed his neck and said, "It hurt… a lot."

"That's not supposed to happen…" Shizuna muttered before brightening up and adding, "Well, I guess we're lucky we got enough of your aura for a lab test back in the Homeland. Only one test left!"

Negi swung his legs that did not reach the floor. Waiting patiently, he checked the room's clock and found that only five minutes had passed.

"Alright, we're ready Negi-sensei," Shizuna announced, holding up the little bronze pocket-watch.

"What do I do?" Negi asked.

"Just sit there," was the reply as Shizuna held the contraption up the Negi's forehead. Her hand stopped short of touching his head. Instead, she held the watch at eye level a foot in front of him. She pressed a button and the hands started spinning.

Both of them waited as the watch spun ever faster until it started to slow and then drifted to a halt. It took all of a minute.

"According to your aura, you body is half a year older than your age, Negi-sensei. Maybe you should cut down on the training. Evangeline-san should understand that you don't want to spend years of your life training in her resort, no matter how nice it is there."

"Does everyone know I'm Eva-san's apprentice?" Negi asked bluntly.

Shizuna smiled. "Just the Headmaster and I – Takahata-sensei too, of course – if it's any consolation."

Negi smiled back but the Headmaster's voice diverted Negi's attention. "It seems the new students have arrived, Negi-sensei. You should go along now. I recommend being careful of magic-sensing demons and particular any magically aware person you might not want knowing of your unstable status." There was a hint of a wink within her words but Negi nodded and carefully thanked her, getting off the bed and heading to the door.

"Oh, and Negi-sensei," Shizuna called as he was about to leave. "Don't dwell on this matter. There's no danger at all from the abnormality so don't let it affect you. Just be as careful like you've always been and you'll be just fine."

Negi gave her another, though weaker smile, and left, leaving the room in a hurry.

Shizuna waited for the door to shut before she allowed a frown to replace her smile. Quickly, she slid open the drawer once again and pulled out a pen and a piece paper on which she scribbled a quick note. With a sense of urgency, she donned her white lab coat and brought the note with her as she left the room in a hurry through a door which was linked to the hallway. The click of her shoes quickly faded away as she headed deeper into campus…

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From his position next to the door linking Shizuna's office to the Headmaster's office, Negi observed the Headmaster talking with the three transfer students. From the handout he had been given, one of the girls was too young to be assigned to his class, and another too old. He presumed they'd be sent to the Elementary Section and the High School Section of Mahora respectively.

The last of the three girls – who, judging by her last name seemed to be the other two's sister – seemed the most likely to be the one transferred into his class. This revelation produced both a mixture of relief and apprehension, the reason being her appearance. Other than her rather long blue-green hair, she seemed much more normal than the average member of Class 3-A. He shuddered to think what would have happened had the transfer student been another person like Asuna or Ayaka, the first examples off the top of his head. Another strange, hormone-driven, teenage girl would probably kill him before he could continue his lessons where he had left off.

Further recollection was prevented when he felt the Headmaster's calculative gaze settle on him.

"Come over here Negi-kun, don't be shy," the Headmaster beckoned with a chuckle.

Though he was embarrassed by being indirectly referred to as a child, Negi complied and walked forward, standing in front of the Headmaster's desk. With a deep bow, he confidently greeted the three students, "My name is Negi Springfield and I'm the teacher for Class 3-A. If you're assigned to my class, I'll be pleased to work with you. Otherwise, it's nice to meet you and I hope we can get along."

The three girls bowed in reply but Negi was not ready for the sudden opening of the door or for the shout that followed. "I've had enough of you and your rude remarks. Now go in there and the Headmaster will deal with you." He recognized the voice as one of an adult, presumably one of a lengthy list of staff workers at Mahora.

"Because you can't?" a feminine voice taunted and a growl was heard before the doors were violently slammed shut.

Five pairs of eyes greeted the newcomer, who stood there, uneasily aware of their stares. "What?" she barked, a hand running through her hair out of nervousness.

Negi felt distinctly uneasy with the girl and even more when the Headmaster said, "Nice of you to join us, Risc-kun."

Negi fought down a sensation of panic at her name and steadied himself as the Headmaster continued, "Welcome to Mahora Gakuen. I'll excuse your tardiness for today, but now that you're a student here, please conduct yourself appropriately and on time."

Contrary to the yells before, Risc bowed smoothly and respectfully, answering in a clear voice, "Yes, sir. Thank you for having me."

The Headmaster nodded in reply and dismissed the four students to the dorm rooms that had been prepared for them. Before she left, Risc shot Negi a grin full of familiarity and a wink that hinted at a dark future. Negi felt sweat bead under his stiff collar and found a new determination to wear more comfortable clothes as soon as possible.

"Negi-kun," the Headmaster said.

Predicting what would come next, Negi gave the Headmaster his attention. "Uh, yes sir?"

"Judging from the apprehension in your voice, I can guess that you've already confirmed that girl as the same one you captured in Wales three days ago. Am I right?" he asked.

To Negi's nod, he said, "You are correct in assuming so. Because her crime is small, the authorities fear that they can hold her in the Magical Ward for only a short amount of time. The danger in releasing one as untrained but skilled as her could be very great indeed. Thus, they decided to make a deal with her. In exchange for a longer period of punishment, they granted her a form of parole under a curse that you should be very familiar with."

"Infernus Scholasticus!" Negi exclaimed.

"That's right, Negi-kun. Well done in your quick deduction," the Headmaster praised. Then, he cleared his throat and added, "Her magic is bound by the curse and, like Evangeline, cannot leave the school grounds. Obviously, she agreed and so she is here now."

He hesitated a second as if unsure how to continue, but pressed forward saying, "Originally, they had planned to bind her to Merdiana, but due to the powerful magics surrounding the Academy and the various magic books scattered throughout the school, it was feared that she would learn the counter-curse incantation."

Here, Negi interrupted, "You mean the incantation for the curse is in Merdiana?"

The hesitation did not leave the Headmaster as he replied, "No, not necessarily. Like our very own Library Island, Merdiana also has a few levels of underground dungeons where the more strange or powerful artifacts and magic tomes are kept."

"But the authorities know of it, the counter-curse?" Negi asked eagerly.

Apprehensively, the old man started, "Yes… but–"

"Then, it is possible to free Evangeline-san!" Negi cut him off.

"Negi," the Headmaster broke into his wildly whirling thoughts. It wasn't the use of his name without the honorifics, but the seriousness of the Headmaster's tone that pulled Negi out of his excitement. "Under no circumstance are you to ask the authorities for the counter-curse incantation. For one, they wouldn't give it to you, a young mage ranked as a Traveler though with more than your average accomplishments under his belt for your young age. All who are bound by this spell are either psychopaths or dangerous criminals. In the worst case, you could be deemed a traitor and executed."

Negi gulped.

"Secondly, there are major differences between the spell cast on Evangeline-kun and the one on Risc-kun. Though the Thousand Master, your father, meant well the only way he could cast that Infernus Scholasticus curse was through his immense magical power. It was not very well done and his mispronunciation of the spell makes certain that the counter-curse must be pronounced in a similar fashion. It is not impossible, but highly unlikely that you'll get it right, not to mention the magical power needed for such a feat is immense and unattainable at your level.

"Finally, the curse placed on Risc is highly specific. To relieve them of any fears they may have, the higher ups added a modification to the spell to prevent our new student from entering the wilderness, and High-School or Elementary Sections of Mahora. Furthermore, if she sets even one foot within a fifty meter perimeter around Library Island, her nerves will be temporarily petrified with an electrically charged needle between her shoulder blades," and here, he demonstrated with a gesture, "by a spirit that will accompany Risc-kun at all times without fail."

The Headmaster gave Negi a moment to filter and grasp all that he was learning. Finally, Negi asked, "Do you know the incantation that will undo the curse on Evangeline-san?"

A sad nod was the reply, but before Negi could get in a word the Headmaster stated, "If I could set Evangeline free I would, even if I had reservations in the past. There is no doubt she is not the same cold-blooded murderer that she had been before you came to Mahora. No, Negi, don't be modest. You deserve the praise, but the Homeland does not think the same. No, if she is set free in this day and age, she will be pursued by a host of demons and mages. That alone, might be enough to persuade her to go back into darkness for her path was determined by the rejection of those around her."

Then, with a smile to lighten the mood, the Headmaster added, "But that story is for another time and you have a lesson to plan, Negi-kun."

Negi nodded, taking the warnings to heart, but before he opened the door to the hallway he apprehensively asked, "Am I to also assume that Risc… err… Trilon, a foreign exchange student will be transferred to my class and that I am to refer to her as such?"

"Her alias is the only thing left that ensures her a little privacy and that is the only thing we'll concede to her. I'm sure you can do it, Negi-kun. You're a fine mage and I'm sure your partners are reliable as well."

As the door shut, he added to himself, "But Negi-kun, be wary of that one, for I fear that she is not as bound as she should be. No, she is not bound at all, and that might be our downfall…

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**- To be Continued…**

**Author's Note: **I have come to feel that the little 'court scene' would fit more in Negima?! verse than Negima! It's a little too chaotic for the lately serious nature of the manga. Also, if anyone catches any mistakes or has suggestions, please be free to leave a message. Sorry I can't split the chapter into two parts; I understand it might be a rather long and droll 9,286 words.

Reviews are welcome, suggestions considered, flames ignored, and unreasonable demands for anything above my rating... hated and scorned, tossed into the fire to burn, **and that would still be too good for it.**


	7. Ending the Beginning, Beginning the End

**Disclaimer:** Negima! is not owned by anyone on unless said person is Ken Akamatsu in disguise… which translates to mean **ownership is not mine.** But… all OCs created by my words, taken from my ideas, and put onto paper are mine and only mine.

**Notes: **"Speech."

'_Thoughts.'_

"**Spells."**

**Termination of Spirit: Contract's Initiation**

**Chapter Seven: Ending the Beginning, Beginning the End**

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"Risc-san, please wait a moment!" Negi called after the girl.

Risc looked behind her and sighed, "What do you want, genius boy?"

"G-Genius boy?" Negi was startled.

"Should I call you 'prodigy' then?" Risc asked sarcastically

A bit shocked by the greeting, Negi told her, "Um… I don't really care what you call me, but my name is Negi Springfield. N-Nice to meet you?"

"Right," Risc rolled her eyes and walked away from him at a fairly rapid pace.

"W-Wait!" Negi called after his new student once again, hurrying to follow her. When he caught up to her, she sighed again and slowed down so he could catch his breath. After a moment of awkward silence – at least, awkward to Negi – he asked, "So what happened to your friends?"

Risc scoffed. "You mean those useless boys? Well, the one called Ansien will probably be stuck in jail for about three months – there isn't an all boys school as prestigious as Mahora and affiliated to the Homeland, right? And that irritating Sagio will probably get something harsher for stealing those magic books." Negi stared at her, just plain scared. A bit ill at ease in response to the stare, she demanded, "What's with that look; you thought I wouldn't tell you?"

"Something along those lines," Negi admitted sheepishly. She grinned and gave him a friendly shove, which only served to confuse him more. Still, that didn't prevent him from saying, "Excuse me, but I have another question."

"Full of them aren't you?" Risc shrugged. "Go ahead, shoot."

"First-" Negi started but Risc groaned, "There's more than one?"

Negi nodded silently in response to her outburst. Risc seemed to hesitate for a moment before she reluctantly said, "Fine… then go on."

Negi took that as a reassuring response and asked, "Why are you answering my questions so easily?"

Risc grinned and answered, "Because they're easy questions."

"I meant, why are you so casual when you're talking to me, as if you have nothing to hide?" Negi reworded his question, still curious.

"There really isn't anything I want to hide from you," Risc told him. "Officials are another matter, but a stationary Traveler's word won't be taken much seriously."

"Though this stationary Traveler arrested you," Negi pointed out with a wry smile. "I guess I can understand your point though."

"You had another question?" Risc questioned brusquely.

"Uh, yes, that's right," Negi said. "During the… fight, I don't understand why, but when my Light Archery hit your Dark Archery your arrows ripped through mine. I thought Magic Archery had the strength limit of a punch."

"Well…" Risc started hesitantly

"Well…?" Negi repeated.

Risc leaned towards him conspiratorially and whispered slowly into his ear, "It's…"

"Yes…?" Negi whispered, anticipant.

She leaned in even closer. "A."

"Yes…?" Negi repeated again, a slight blush creeping up his face from the proximity of her head.

"Secret," Risc finished, pulling away abruptly.

Negi tripped on a particularly slippery tile and face-faulted into the ground.

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"Good morning class!" Negi greeted the class cheerfully.

"Good morning sensei!" they replied, just as cheerfully though much more energetically and loudly.

Negi grinned, happy to see his students in such high spirits, his earlier gloom all but forgotten. "Now, before we start, I have an announcement to make:"

"You're getting married, sensei?" someone broke in.

"W-What?" Negi spluttered.

"Uh… H-Haruna-san asked, if-if you are getting married," Nodoka replied shyly, blushing at the implication of such a statement.

"Why would I be getting married?" Negi asked Mahora's resident mangaka, incredulously indignant.

"Haruna-san saw you walking around campus with a strange foreign girl you height," Kazumi answered for her fellow gossiper.

"You should have known that most important aspect of Paru by now: everything gets blown out of proportion."

"Yuetchi!" Haruna exclaimed. "I have a reputation to uphold, y'know?" Yue gave her a rare smirk.

"Haruna-san…" Negi said patiently.

"Ehe, sorry sensei. Just some harmless fun."

Negi gave her a measuring stare that he hoped made him seem in control of both the class and his irritation. Then, he cleared his throat and continued. "Now, if you'll let me finish, I have an announcement to make. From this day forward, I-"

"What's taking so long?" a different voice broke in.

"Ahh, it's that girl from this morning!?" Haruna exclaimed in shock.

Risc responded with a confused, "Uh… do I know you?"

Just as a mob was about to form, Ayaka shouted, "Quiet! Can't you see your disgraceful behavior is shaming sensei in front of our guest?"

"T-Thank you, Iinchou-san… I think," Negi laughed weakly, waving away Ayaka's exuberant "You're welcome."

"Did she say guest? I thought I was here to stay… at least for awhile," Risc pouted cutely, an action that Negi was convinced was meant to give him more grief than he could handle. The mob exploded in indignation towards Negi. He gave Risc a meaningful stare as Ayaka calmed down the class, to which the girl only grinned at.

"Ahem… Please let me finish talking before ANYONE else interrupts. From today forward, I'd like to announce-"

"That you're getting married."

"Yes, that's right; I'm… N-no! No, no, no, no, no! What are you putting into my mouth, Haruna-san?"

"Hehe, sorry sensei, I just had to do it. Can't let these little gems disappear, can I?"

Negi wiped frustrated tears from his eyes and pushed forward, pointedly ignoring Haruna and Kazumi's high five.

"From today forward, I'd like to announce that Risc Trilon will be joining our class as a transfer student from abroad." Here, he motioned Risc forward.

"Uh… Good morning. My name is Risc Trilon and I'm twe- er… fourteen years old."

'Eh!" the class exploded in shock. The mob quickly reformed and this time not even Ayaka – considering she was a leading figure of the discord – could stop them from rushing down and enveloping their new comrade and what thought of as a love-rival.

"Class, class! Please quiet down… settle down… return to your seats?" Negi pleaded with his chaotic students, the last request quite timidly. Thinking that he had sighed quite a lot over the past few days, he murmured "Forgive me then…"

A second later, a large – very large – torrent of water cascaded down onto the students from the ceiling. For those more observant, there was no way the water could have come from the hole-less ceiling, but most were too indignant at being soaked through to consider their surroundings.

"Ahh! What was that for, sensei?" someone cried out.

"Now I'm – We're soaking wet!" Ayaka managed to sputter.

"Well… you wouldn't calm down… and your faces were so read (must be the tight quarters) that I thought you all should have cooled down."

"Stupid brat! Who would enjoy getting water poured on them?" Risc shouted angrily.

"Risc-san!"

"Yeah, and especially on their first day! Knowing how you hate baths, you'd probably shriek if that happened to you, Negi bozu," Asuna agreed, sitting safely at her desk.

"Asuna-san!"

"You had it coming," Yue finished, idly sipping on her drink.

"Eh… Yue-san, you too?"

About half an hour later, after everyone had changed into their P.E. uniforms – except for Risc who had a spare change of clothes in her luggage – Negi said, "Well, Risc-san, since you haven't received your school material yet, you are free from classes this morning. However, make sure you get your books from the office and talk to the dean about where you'll live before the day is over. I don't think you want to be caught outside with no shelter as the nights are getting colder."

"Negi, they are cold."

"Thank you Asuna-san, I realize that," Negi quivered, but from rage or frustration nobody knew.

"I guess I'll leave now…" Risc murmured.

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As the bell rang, Negi called out, "Uh… may the following students please stay after class? Konoka-san, Asuna-san, Setsuna-san, Haruna-san, Nodoka-san, Yue-san, and… Chisame-san?"

"Eh? What do you want me for?"

"Please, just stay, Chisame-san."

"That's right, Chisame-chan!" Haruna teased. "We all know you're just trying to avoid anything that's not real and down to Earth."

"Shut it, stupid mangaka."

Over Haruna's teasing and Chisame's angry retorts, Negi shouted, "Kaede-san, Mana-san, Ku-Fei-san, and Chao-san are to go to the Headmaster's office."

"What for?" Ku Fei asked though she was already halfway out the door.

"The Headmaster needs to inform you on some important matters."

"All right then," the Chinese girl acknowledged with a salute. "We'll be right there."

Just as Mana left the room, Negi heard her hiss to herself, "This better be important if he's going to deliberately interrupt this stupid job." Negi couldn't believe his ears. Captain Tatsumiya… showing unbridled anger? No, he must have heard wrong.

Now, with everyone there and sitting around him, Negi started speaking. "For those of you who don't know," Setsuna and Asuna grinned to each other, "I was gone the morning before we left Wales…"

He went on to explain the adventure as best he could, taking care not to touch on any explicit details but, as expected, Negi found that he had to cover his ears when he announced the newly formed demon pactio.

"Eh!"

"Negi-sensei! Y-You kissed a demon?" Nodoka asked in panic after their exclamations had died down.

"No!" Negi practically yelled, startling his students who were standing in a semi-circle around him.

"Still, how could you do such a thing, Negi-sensei," Yue asked, clearly shocked. "I thought demons are to mages what evil is to good."

"Chao-san tells me there is nothing to worry about," Negi stated calmly and confidently.

"And look at all the trouble she's caused for you, Negi-sensei," Haruna pointed out just as confidently.

"What I was trying to tell him all day long," Asuna agreed.

Negi cleared his throat. "If that's your reaction, imagine what Eva-san would do to me, so please keep this a secret everyone."

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"Ah, it's boya and entourage," Eva announced. Chachamaru glanced up right away to see the light of magic shining in the distance.

"I'll go welcome them in," the robot said.

"Yes, do so. I want to go over boya's battle when he gets here."

Soon, Negi, Asuna, Nodoka, and Chachamaru were standing in under Eva's gaze, Negi standing stiff and at attention while Asuna was only stiff. Unfortunately, Nodoka had no such backbone and seemed to wither under the vampire's gaze.

"Uh… master," Negi started. "I realize it is a full moon tonight but please don't stare at me as if you want to eat me."

Eva ignored Negi's request. Instead, she demanded, "Why's the monkey standing so close to you, boya?"

"What are you talking about?" Asuna asked nervously, inching away from Negi. "Why would you think that we're hiding something?"

"I wasn't… not really," Eva said, catching Asuna's eyes, "but I do now, foolish little monkey."

"Asuna-san's not a monkey!" Negi retorted, changing the subject in the same motion.

"Funny how I don't hear her complaining," Eva jibed. Then, turning to Asuna, she cut off the redhead's objection and asked, "Anxious about something are we?"

Once again, Asuna found that she was once again unable to defend herself as Nodoka piped up.

"A-Asuna-san doesn't need to defend herself," Nodoka started bravely. She froze in fright as Eva turned her cold, frosty gaze toward her, locking her movements until Nodoka was a stature, still and unmoving.

"Now why do you say that?" Eva inquired, boring a hole into Nodoka's head with her gaze.

With great effort, Nodoka pulled open her jaw and stammered, "I-It's common sense." Though Nodoka's teeth were clattering, chattering, Eva was taken aback by the usually quiet and shy bookworm's defense of the uncharacteristically silent redhead. Of course, she didn't know that Asuna had been trying to get a word in the whole time.

Evangeline mouthed an 'o' and said, "I didn't know that," smirking all the while. "Oh wait, didn't boya say that a moment ago? Where's your proof, bookstore?"

"Stop slandering my students, Eva-san," Negi broke in, anger hissing from his voice.

The vampire stiffened at the comment. Negi glared daggers at his suddenly silent master, ignoring the warnings Asuna and Nodoka glanced his way.

Deciding to fill the silence, Asuna forced a smile and said, "I'll take your insults today, you little brat, but if that's the welcome you give to all your visitors then it's a wonder you have any friends."

Eva gave her an innocent grin and then yelled, "Down arrogant fools! You dare give me orders? Who's the master here, huh, who? One more word out of you weaklings and I'll give you hell. I'll make you understand the true meaning of the words subservience! Also, boya," Eva looked towards a quivering Negi, poisonous honey dripping from her tongue. "Though they may be your students, they are also mine and so are you! You want respect? Then show respect first!"

The three nodded quickly and quietly, frightened to silence.

"Friends, is it, you lowly curs? You dare talk to me of friends when you should be down on your knees begging for forgiveness? But just this once I'll show a rare sign of mercy and forgive you…"

A moment more of silence passed before Eva demanded, "Where's my thanks?"

"Thank you oh so much, chibiko," Asuna smirked.

Eva replied with a smirk of her own. "Oh, you want a test of wills, saru-san? Then why don't we have a fight, right now?"

"You're on, Eva-chin," Asuna smart-mouthed in return.

"Wait, Asuna-san," Negi started as Asuna made to walk away from him.

"What, saru-san, scared?" Eva taunted. Eva's malicious grin widened as she observed the way Asuna's fists tightened. Before Asuna could retort, however, another voice broke in.

"I'll take your challenge," Setsuna called from afar, Konoka walking behind her.

"I thought I was challenging saru-san, not hanyo-san," Eva frowned.

Asuna-san frowned with her and protected her pride by saying, "That's right; I don't need your help, Setsuna-san. I can deal with chibi-brat all by myself."

"That's not the point," Setsuna told her, ignoring Eva's arched eyebrow. "Besides, I've been meaning to have a rematch with Eva-san for awhile now."

"A rematch is it? What a foolish idea, and don't think you've distracted me from this widespread secret of yours so easily," Eva sneered.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Setsuna replied stoically, which made Eva chuckle softly.

"If brat and monkey won't fight, then why are you any exception? Just spill the secret and I won't punish you, boya."

"R-Really?" Negi smiled.

"Well…" Eva said, wiping the smirk off of Negi's face, "you'll only have to spend a few months of your life in here with me."

"Eva-san, are you really not interested in a rematch?" Setsuna asked for good measure.

"No, not really, but if you put it that way I don't have much of a choice, do I? Even if I'm not human I still have this idiotic pride to protect, eh? Alright then, I'll accept your challenge… on one condition."

Setsuna, immediately wary, slowly asked, "And what might that be?"

Eva pointed to Konoka, who almost visibly jumped, startled at the sudden attention. "I'll have your precious 'Ojou-sama' fight too."

"W-What?" Setsuna spluttered.

Eva sighed in consternation. "I thought I spoke very clearly. I want your dear Ojou-sama to be in this mock battle of ours too. Let's see if she can survive longer than a few seconds."

"I-Impossible!" Setsuna exclaimed.

Eva gave her a sad smile. "Then I'm afraid I have no choice… Boya, I'm sure you know what Sixth Division spells are used for, right?"

"T-Torture?"

"Precisely," Eva smiled, baring her fangs, one eye still on Setsuna.

"Wait, I'll do it!" Konoka suddenly spoke up, to the others' surprise.

Setsuna gave her one incredulous look and said to Eva, "I rescind my challenge."

"Will your warrior pride allow it?" Eva challenged.

"It's all right, Setsuna-san. I can handle this," Konoka told her friend confidently.

"No, absolutely not," Setsuna stated firmly.

"But," Konoka pouted.

"No," Setsuna repeated, set in her decision. "I won't have it, Ojou-sama!"

"So you admit you won't be able to protect her at your level?" Eva sneered, fueling Setsuna's frustration.

"That's not it, but…" Setsuna muttered.

"Oh, just let her," Asuna interrupted wearily. "If she wants to die and gets herself killed it'll be her own fault."

"Asuna-san!" Negi exclaimed, shocked that she would even joke about such a morbid topic.

"Thank you oh so much, Asuna-san." Konoka stuck her tongue out. "But Asuna-san is right. It is my choice and I say I'm fighting!"

"You're very welcome," Asuna stuck in sarcastically.

Setsuna seemed to be about to elaborate more on that topic but Eva seemed to have had enough of the debate. She strolled out into the middle of the beach and waved Negi, Asuna, and Nodoka into the shaded tables.

"Eva-san," Setsuna started but Eva interrupted. "You took the challenge now make good your word."

Setsuna growled softly, glancing once at Konoka before becoming resigned to the idea of having one more join the battle to come.

"I understand, all right then…" she acknowledged.

"Set-chan, thank you," Konoka hugged her friend cheerfully.

Eva smirked at the girl's inability to (or **apparent** inability to) understand reluctance and said, "The conditions are simple: all you two need to do is to survive long enough to faint. Or in other words, draw blood from my body and you win."

"A handicap? You'll regret underestimating us!" Setsuna growled her rage and pride fueling her motivation once again.

"Underestimate?" Eva shrugged off the word. "Don't be silly; I'm overestimating you just by giving you this challenge."

"I'll make you eat those words!" Setsuna fiercely stated, her grip tightening on Yunagi's hilt.

"Oh, I'm sorry; I'm not hungry," Eva smirked in reply.

"Ojou-sama!" Setsuna shouted in a commanding tone.

"R-Right," Konoka replied uncertainly. **"Practe Big Nar… Come, gather spirit of light. Increase thy target's energy with radiant light." **A glowing sphere lifted up from Konoka's wand and darted towards Setsuna and sank into her back. A faint aura surrounded the swordswoman before fading away.

"Just as Negi taught you, eh, Ojou-sama?" Eva commented with an idle smile, though scorn filled the respectful title to the brim.

Before she finished speaking, Setsuna had already dashed forward, unsheathing her blade with blinding speed in the same motion. So quick was her blade that a clear ringing emitted from the blur of flashing steel that caught the light of the resort's fake sun. Effortlessly, Eva dodged the preemptive strike with a short, backwards hop. Unfazed by her miss, Setsuna leaped after her, sending two mid-waist slashes the vampire's way without waiting for their feet to hit the ground.

Despite having no ground for purchase, Eva slid backwards on thin air – it almost looked like she was skating away from the sharp blade. Setsuna gritted her teeth and pressed forward, determined not to lose her advantage as the attacker. Sand flew behind her as she became airborne, gaining so much momentum that the leap would have won an Olympic medal were it a competition. With the strength of gravity and force behind her, Setsuna cleaved the air in front of her. It would have been disconcerting, at the least, for most people to find a blade positioned right over their head, but Eva was not an ordinary person. With unnatural grace and speed, she slid out from under the blade, finishing with an easy spin. From that spin she launched her counterattack in which seven glowing arrows of ice were launched at her pursuer.

Setsuna batted three away before her mind could take control of her ingrained reflexes. Smoothly, Setsuna redirected the other four projectiles away from her and continued after her target, urging her legs to greater speed in an effort to close the distance before the mage could cast her spells. It was to be in vain.

Setsuna lunged forward raising her blade high over her head and far behind her shoulder. In response, Eva threw a strange bottle and yelled something in Latin. The words were drowned out by the loud explosion that greeted both Setsuna's eyes and ears. She let loose the tension in her arms and allowed Yunagi to fall in a powerful downward arc until it contacted with the enormous ice shield that Eva had summoned into Setsuna's path. Setsuna ground her feet into the sand as she landed but she soon found her feet sliding backwards from the momentum of the circle of ice. What more, not only did it block her blade and her view it pushed back against the swordsman so that she couldn't move for fear of being crushed underneath the giant disk.

Taking her premeditated advantage, Eva flew over the shield and smirked, raising her hand high.

"Setsuna-san!" Asuna shouted in warning.

Setsuna snapped her head upwards helplessly to watch as three crystalline arrows descended upon her unguarded back, but to everyone's surprise, the projectiles did not reach their target. Instead, the ice missiles met their end as they collided with three of their white kin in a brilliant flash of magic.

Eva frowned in annoyance and sent a barrage of no-incantation magical arrows towards the interferer.

In almost panic, Konoka pointed her practice wand in the general direction of the seven icy missiles headed her way and quickly shouted out, "Practe Bigi Nar Ardescat!" A lancing flame sprouted out from the wand and into the midst of the clustered missiles. The strength of the flame quickly turned the ice to harmless steam. Unfortunately, such a simple spell could not handle the strenuous effort of creating such a large flame with the usual amount of magic. Konoka almost collapsed to her knees. To add to the tottering girl's dismay, behind the smoke of the boiled ice missiles came seven darker arrows, lancing quickly towards her. With a yelp, Konoka waved her wand in front of her and unconsciously raised her magical barrier.

This time, Konoka did collapse into the sand, incredulous though grateful for the spherical shield that protected her. Several small craters that formed a ring around her gave proof to the effectiveness of the shield.

Eva frowned but a resounding crack redirected her attention away from Konoka. In a blur of motion later, Eva sidestepped in the air; Setsuna missed her as she cleaved a path directly upwards through air. Setsuna spun out of her rocket-like jump, readying her blade.

The flying vampire gave her a taunting smirk as the ice from the broken shield below gathered ice into her hands. By the time Setsuna swung her blade, Eva had her own rapier in her hands, made of slippery magic ice. As the summoned weapon and Yunagi made contact, a cloud of cold frost and powder followed Yunagi's path as it slipped away from the ice rapier. Undeterred, Setsuna continued her attack as the two plummeted downwards.

"Yo, Negi-sensei," Haruna greeted the spectators, dragging a moping Chisame behind her. The net-idol murmured half-veiled threats to the mangaka who dedicatedly ignored her. Behind them, Yue followed, sipping on a carton of juice.

Haruna whistled appreciatively at the mid-air battle. "I bet Kazumi wishes she were here," she commented. "She'd love to take pictures of this fight."

Chachamaru took a spot behind Negi having been the one who had guided the rest of Negi's partners to the center of the resort. After a certain incident in the summer, several new unsavory traps had been installed and the robot was sure Negi wouldn't want his friends hurt. Did it really matter that the traps were specifically for these girls and that her master was the maker? No, not at all.

As the fight started nearing the ground, Eva asked, "Where are those white wings of yours? Don't tell me you had them surgically removed."

"I don't need to use them for you. This handicap won't change the outcome of our fight."

"Right you are; nothing will change at all!"

Eva quickly changed tactics as Setsuna swung again and held her blade firm against the stronger steel. The end result destroyed her weapon like shattering glass. Setsuna protected her face with a hand as she fell through the bladed shards. In that second, she felt something wrap tightly around her foot, jerking her downward momentum to a stop. Before any reflex of could kick in, Setsuna found her arms pinned to her side and her legs snapped tight together by a barely visible glimmer of light.

"String," she hissed.

"Almost correct," Eva stated. "It's wire," she corrected and started a familiar incantation. **"Lic lac la lac lilac."**

"**Series Lucis," **Konoka replied from her half-kneeling state on the sand. The three arrows that blasted from her wand sliced through the wires holding Setsuna captive, freeing the girl to plummet.

**Unus Fulgor Concidens Noctem…"**

Setsuna, recognizing the thunder spell, flipped herself until she was facing the glowing mage. Drawing her sword back, she murmured, **"Shinmeiryuu Ougi…" (Ultimate Secret Technique)**

Just as Eva called out, **"Fulguratio Albicans!"** Setsuna roared: **"****Raimeiken!"**

A sudden roar of energy made the hair of all those present stand on end. The electricity of the Eva's White Thunder spell collided with Setsuna's Ki-infused blade of thunder and imploded sending out a shockwave of energy from the momentary vacuum the blast had created. Setsuna hit the ground feet first at a crouch and let the sand absorb the energy of her fall. She coughed but soon realized she was not out of danger yet. Eva flew out of the dust with a slight cough though she was already chanting in Ancient Greek.

"**Empty Space! Hurl Down Lightning and Then Cut Down! Ax of Lightning!"**

Setsuna's sword swung an arc from the edge of the beach's shoreline into the sand and then up. The spraying sand partially blocked the bright flame of Ki that leapt from her palm blasting into the half-dome Yunagi had created. Eva's spell hit the sand at full force, the electricity reaching for the girl and metal blade that hid underneath the flimsy barrier. However, the heat of the Ki blast had melted the sand sufficiently to create a weak sort of glass. The electricity spell had to struggle slightly to overpower the shield, and under normal circumstances it would have. The hammer of thunder pushed down, over, and around the shield and touched water. Quickly, finding a route that had no resistance to it, the sea absorbed the lightning leaving behind a crumbling glass construct.

"Where'd that reckless girl go," Eva muttered as she peered through the dust the explosion had caused. A faint blur grew rapidly larger, gleaming with untarnished steel.

Konoka didn't know what hit her. One moment she was staring worriedly at the smoking glass and sand dome; the next moment she was flying through the air, pulled upwards by her leg. She let out a scream that warned Setsuna of her princess's imminent arrival. To Eva's surprise, Setsuna ignored the scream and readied her blade.

"**Shinmeiryuu Ougi: ****Zanganken Ni-no-Tachi!"** The moment Konoka appeared in front of Setsuna's blade as a shield Yunagi quivered and disappeared in a blur. Instead of a line of blood across Konoka's unprotected chest, the wire holding her aloft split into pieces.

"**Hiken: Zankūsen Ni-no-Tachi!"**

A second slash followed the first, sending a spiraling ray of Ki directly towards Konoka, disappearing like the first before reappearing to hit Eva square in the chest. All of this processed in Konoka's mind within seconds but the thought that gripped her most powerfully was that she was falling and there was nothing but hard ground underneath her.

Before she could open her mouth to scream, two strong arms gripped her and held her tightly. Konoka opened her eyes to meet Setsuna's. A soft rustling noise made her look past her savior's smile and to the beautiful white wings that kept them both aloft.

"Oh… you think you're so good, don't you," a voice dripping with barely controlled anger hissed from above where Evangeline floated, a trickle of blood sliding down her limp left arm.

Uncomfortably aware of the dark aura radiating from the vampire's body, Setsuna said, "Eva-san, we won. Now let's go back down and see about getting that wound of yours treated."

"Wound? This little scratch that you gave me? No, I don't think it is any business of one who is about to die a most painful death whether or not I need medical attention."

"Uh… Eva-san?"

"Don't you 'Eva-san' me! This little secret of yours is driving me insane and I won't hear another word until you spill your blood, secrets, or otherwise!"

"**Shades of the dark, bind together the lake of ice, crystallized darkness, plummeting night!"**

The whole resort rumbled with Eva's power. Large spires of ice formed in the air next to her with the size of houses, towers, and statues. She laughed manically, "Now get out of my skies stupid bird or you'll find yourselves smacked out of the air! Fire!"

The largest of the ice crystals rocketed forward. Setsuna easily flew out of the way but Negi and friends weren't so lucky. Eva had launched the magical projectile straight at them on purpose.

"Move!" Asuna yelled, dragging Negi beside her as the five scattered, Haruna, Chisame, and Yue in one direction, Asuna and Negi in another.

"You're not escaping that easily!" Eva exclaimed gleefully.

"Negi-bozu! Do something!" Asuna pleaded as a giant tower of ice barely missed its target.

Negi concentrated and then called out clearly, **"Mea Virga!"**

From the table where he had left it, Negi's staff flew into his hands and pulled him and Asuna into the air. Negi let go of the staff and stood on its jagged end, balancing perfectly as he pulled Asuna into his arms, bridal style.

Once she realized what had happened, Azuna started struggling. "Hey! Negi you pervert, what are you doing? Put me down at once!" she blushed while she panicked.

Negi exclaimed in his own kind of panic, "Stop Asuna-san, you're going to make us fall off!"

True to his words, their position in the air was already steadily lowering. With a cry of dismay, Negi hit the ground and rolled, tossing Asuna up just have her land on his back. Negi groaned in pain as Asuna belatedly apologized after making sure no article of clothing on her body had been disturbed by her brief flight.

"Asuna-san, how heavy are you?" he asked, mind blurred from the crash.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Asuna yelled, glaring at him murderously and hoisting him by the collar of his shirt with dark energy.

A large shadow loomed over the two of them interrupting the execution Asuna had planned for the young mage. An enormous crystalline spear crashed down over their heads. The giant icicle landed right between the two victims, blowing them apart. When Negi was able to stand steadily, he found that he and Asuna were trapped on opposite sides.

"Boya… I'll have you speak now!"

Negi squeaked and spun around to see Eva, hands a-glowing with a devilish smile darkening her face. Negi backed into the freezing ice behind him with another yelp.

'_One death-threat to another to another…'_ Negi thought, minds whirling around with tornado like force and speed.

"Now speak before I use the Mind Twist spell on you. It's strange that I warn you considering the circumstances. Just know that you don't want to know how much I want to use this thing…"

"You-you see…" Negi started. Eva's hand glowed brighter.

"Be quick about it!"

Negi gulped and said "Uh… you know, that one day Chao-san asked me to…"

Ten minutes later, Negi had recounted the whole tale, cringing from Eva the whole time.

"Now, if I understand you correctly…" Eva paced slowly, all the while staring hard at Negi. "You mean to say you just stood back and watched while gung-ho redhead fought? What happened to becoming a magic swordsman?"

"Eh…"

"It was the heat of the moment?" Konoka suggested innocently.

"Hmm…" Eva nodded benevolently and picked Negi up by the scruff of his neck, proceeding to drag him out into the beach.

"Oi, Eva-chibi, what are you doing?" Asuna demanded, now seated with her companions. To Eva's mirth, Yue was still sipping her drink calmly and Chisame was still sulking from "wasting an hour of her time."

"Don't call me that you worthless monkey. I'm only going to test this demon pactio out."

"You mean, you're not mad?" Negi asked incredulously.

"Why would I be mad, boya, when all you did was to get yourself some power?"

"That's strangely twisted," Yue commented. Nodoka stared at her in astonishment that she had the guts to face a full-moon vampiric Eva with those words.

Eva ignored Yue's comment and ordered, "Now, summon your artifact, boya. I don't think you want to keep me waiting."

"R-Right," Negi replied. He pulled the pactio card from his pocket and clearly intoned, **"Adeat!"**

The card expanded into a cloud of dark matter and ominous black light that completely enveloped Negi.

"Is this supposed to happen?" Haruna inquired idly to Negi's screams of fright.

"You think?" Chisame snapped.

"We have to get him out of there!" Asuna exclaimed, chargin headfirst to bounce into and invisible barrier. "Itai!" she exclaimed in surprise and pain.

"That's what you call not thinking before you act," Yue nodded sagely.

"Ehehe…" Nodoka laughed nervously.

"Asuna-san, you'll hurt yourself if you keep on going like this," Setsuna called to the stubborn girl worriedly. Asuna ignored her and continued ramming the invisible barrier with no results for her effort

"Oh, don't worry about her. If she has any good traits at all, it'd be her ability to live through anything... like a cockroach," Konoka commented cynically.

"Ojou-sama!"

Eva laughed. She couldn't help it; these fools were just too funny.

Fortunately, for sanity's sake, the cloud of darkness dissipated as soon as Negi calmed down. Unfortunately, it took Negi awhile to calm down.

When he was finally revealed for all to see, everyone except for Chachamaru. Instead, the robot steamed.

"That's just not right…" Chisame muttered darkly. "Those looks… that face!"

"Why are you all staring at me?" Negi exclaimed unhappily.

"Try looking down," Haruna told him, looking way herself before she could crack up laughing.

He looked down and to his surprise found... Negi blinked and asked, "Uh… what are do you mean? I'm wearing exactly what I was wearing before!" That caused a mild uproar of protest. "Well then, what do you see?"

The answers came back fast and varying.

"Black suit!"

"Magician costume!"

"Silver armor!"

"Wings…"

"A weird cape…"

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

"Haruna-san!"

"Hehe, sorry. I see a shirt that says, 'Give me manga or give me death!'"

"That's not right!" someone shouted and they all started arguing.

"I… see a fluttering cloak and a ball of light," Konoka said, cutting off the argument.

"Ah, we have a winner," Eva said, earning her a beaming smile from Konoka and a glare from Asuna. "That's a pretty strong artifact you have there, boya. With a strong illusion spell, it deceives many people at once, each with different images."

"That's good, right?" Negi asked.

Eva nodded and said, "Turn it off."

"Eh? The pactio?"

"No, you dimwit, the illusion!"

Negi wasn't sure how to go about it but it seemed he did something right. The illusion disappeared and everyone could now see the cloak that fluttered around him, dancing as if being moved by some invisible wind. Beside him hovered the ball of light, which was harsh to the eyes and seemed to have a substance that light usually did not.

"Still," Eva sighed, "I'd like to know what that ball does." Without warning, a volley of ice bolts streaked towards Negi, faster than he could react. Instead of hitting him dead on though, they split away from him as if something nudged them out of the way, off target. The bolts streaked past him and hit the ground with small smoldering craters in the sound.

"Master, what was that for?" Negi demanded. A low ring chimed, attracting Eva's attention. The dark mage ignored Negi and stared hard at the sphere of light. She frowned and launched another spell at Negi to the boy's dismay.

He dodged out of the magical arrows' way but another three streaked behind him. In response, the hovering orb moved in a flash. The projectiles were nudged aside once again before Negi could even move. A second chime, a subtle higher pitch, followed. This time, Negi looked up at the strange orb that had saved him twice in a row. Within the harsh radiance was a faint black outline. Negi squinted and could only barely make out the Roman numeral for two.

"Interesting," Eva muttered darkly, sending a shiver down Negi's spine. **"Undeduocenti spiritus glaciales, coeuntes inimicum… SAGITTENT!" **

"Gah!" was all Negi could say as he stared up at the one-hundred-and-ninety-nine plummeting stars. The exlosion sent up great clouds of dust that covered everything in sight. The girls coughed and coughed, trying to clear their throats of the powdery stuff that had scattered everywhere.

"Where's Negi-kun?" someone asked.

A shadow loomed over head to the sound of rapid chimes. A spear lifted clear out of the dust, half-formed.

They recognized it as one mind. "That's…!" they exclaimed.

"The devil," Asuna hissed.

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**- To be Continued…**

**Author's Note: **Sorry about the rather slow update. Hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter should come quickly!

Reviews are welcome, suggestions considered, flames ignored, and unreasonable demands for anything above my rating... hated and scorned, tossed into the fire to burn, **and that would still be too good for it.**


	8. Blood Dreams Death The Beginning

**Disclaimer:** Negima! is not owned by anyone on unless said person is Ken Akamatsu in disguise… which translates to mean **ownership is not mine.** But… all OCs created by my words, taken from my ideas, and put onto paper are mine and only mine.

**Notes: **All right, people - readers and reviewers alike - I have an announcement to make. I am, as of this chapter, taking a poll. But first, I'd like to warn readers of the immense length of this chapter. You don't need to read it all in one go, just remember to 'bookmark' where you are and finish reading it. Also, I'd like to give a loud thanks to The Ansem Man, Serac, and Azureshot for helping me by reading and making comments on a few of the scenes.

Now, for the poll - The question is: do you like how I am writing my chapters? Does the order they go in throw you off or do you enjoy the twist it brings?

1) If you want me to continue writing my way with this different way of recounting events, tell me in a review or don't review at all.

2) If you would rather I write everything in regular chronological order, review and tell me so or else I will never know.

At the end of the first week after this chapter is up, I will check the response.

#Y - compared to - (#H-#R)/3 + #N

Y Yes H Hits R Reviews N No

Basically, the number of yes replies will be compared to the number of hits minus the number of reviews all divided plus three + the number of no replies. The equation applies to both polls.

If you say yes, tell me in a review. If you say no, tell me in a review or don't tell me at all.

For those who don't care either way for the above two polls, tell me or ignore me. I don't care either.

Also… a certain someone says I don't have enough 'romantic issues' in my story, so I'd just like to ask how many people agree and if so, is there any pairing they'd like to see in particular. Ah, I'll tell you in advance: I don't write Yuri or Yaoi and I'm not that great of a romance writer either. If tou want to see some good romance: read Theru's, Ambrant's, Masa's, or Serac's fics. For crack romance, read Scheme?! Oh, and read Kafka's Dragon's Markham Chronicles. Highly recommended… anyone I missed? (Midnight Sleeper: I need you to update before I can credibly advertise your fic.)

Thanks for understanding.

"Speech."

'_Thoughts.'_

"**Spells."**

**Termination of Spirit: Contract's Initiation**

**Chapter Eight: Blood; Dreams; Death - The Beginning**

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"Master," Chachamaru shook Eva awake.

"What is it?" Evangeline grumbled snappishly, a dark aura of malice slowly becoming visible. "Maybe I should ask you what time it is instead… Yes, what time is it and why are you waking me up at this unholy hour of the morn?" Eva yelled angrily.

Unfazed, Chachamaru replied in her usual monotone, "Two demons have broken through the barrier. Shall I deal with them?"

The chibi vampire's malignant aura lessened as she reached a higher level of wakefulness. Chachamaru waited patiently as her master let out a luxurious yawn before she replied. "That's alright, Chachamaru, I'll go myself. Shower," she demanded with a clap.

"Yes, master," Chachamaru replied and carried Eva, nightgown and all, into the adjoining bath where Eva slipped into the already prepared bathwater with a sigh of contentment.

"Say, what did you think of yesterday, Chachamaru?" Eva asked idly as she sank lower in the large tub, blowing bubbles in the water as if she could pretend she wasn't hundreds of years old.

"Yesterday?" the robot repeated with a query as she donned the protective gloves that would keep any lucky drops of water from slipping into the cracks between her waterproof metal shell. It would be… problematic at the least if her mechanical parts were to be exposed to the electricity-hungry liquid.

"Yes yesterday you idiot, don't make me repeat myself!" Eva snapped, running a finger along her long blonde hair.

The action touched on a video Chachamaru had saved while watching a soap opera to study the reactions of humans. Her ulterior motive was to use that information to predict the actions of any who would harm her master, but Chachamaru found her charts smiling at her, congratulating her for keeping such useful information in which she might aid her master. So, using her analytical programs, Chachamaru asked, "Master, are you nervous about something?"

Eva gulped water in her shock. Chachamaru never–never–asked her if she – her of all people – was nervous. Other people she inquired about, but never the Undead Mage! Eva wasn't sure if it was because she hid her emotions so well or if Chachamaru had just never thought she might suffer from human emotions. The latter seemed wrong, but Eva ignored the implications of the former, quickly thinking up a way to fix the situation… or at least save face.

"Nervous?" Eva shrugged off the comment. "Why-ever would I be nervous?"

"Master is slightly hyperventilating, performing acts that are categorized as nervous behavior, and master's heart rate is above normal."

"Spoken like a true robot," Eva murmured darkly.

"Did you say something, master?" Chachamaru asked her sensors not quite sharp enough to catch the comment.

"Fine, Chachamaru, you've caught me! Yes, I'm showing emotion, but I am not, and I repeat, am not nervous! I'm just irritated."

"Irritated, master?" Chachamaru asked, her tone betraying none of the curiosity Eva could have sworn flickered in her partner's eyes.

"Yes, irritated that you're not washing me right this moment," Eva stated with a petulant frown. At her frown, Chachamaru moved to do her duties but Eva could have sworn that the robot's mouth had curved, that its eyes had twitched.

"Do you know what else I'm irritated at?" Eva asked with a sigh of irritation. Chachamaru added in the homemade bubble bath solution into the bath water – it had been made by Eva herself through the use of alchemy. The only sign the robot showed of listening was… well, no sign at all.

"The stupid brat thought he could hide his aura from me. Magic canceller can't do everything…"

"Why did you pretend not to notice then?"

"It was a test; I wanted to see if the brat trusted me or not. It seems the answer is quite obvious."

"Maybe… Negi-sensei didn't want to trouble you?"

"Why would he care if I'm troubled or not?"

Chachamaru gave her a look that, though there was no emotion involved, plainly told Eva that the android was not going to answer.

Eva sighed and conceded the point but she pursued the subject. "Why would he think that I'd be troubled though? It doesn't matter to me if he spends his life chasing after his stupid father or making reckless decisions at the word of someone already untrustworthy to begin with."

"You're worried about him and this pact."

"Of course I'm worried about him and this pact…" Eva snapped. A second before she sank lower into the water, she added, "And don't you dare tell anyone I said that!"

"Geez, they didn't have to go as far as letting that idiot sword-wielding, overconfident, half-crow half-demon girl challenge me to a fight! Where's the supposed bond between master and student?"

"Master, are you alright? Your temperature seems to be rising quickly."

"You wouldn't have slipped truth serum into my mouth while I was sleeping, would you?" the vampire growled angrily. When there was no reply, she continued and said, "I didn't think so – you're embarrassing me and I don't like it. Get me dressed; I need to find those fate-condemned demons quickly or this heat will get the better of me."

"Yes, master." Chachamaru bowed respectfully and left the bedroom to obey, fetching the articles of clothing.

Outside, Chachamaru logged the incident in her memory bank and, on a whim, titled it: "Master When Nobody is Watching."

As she did so, Evangeline wrapped herself with a towel and paced with irritation, back and forth.

Chachamaru walked back in a moment later, handing Eva the vampire her clothing. Eva gave her an exasperated sigh at the sight of the school uniform, another subtle message reminding Eva not to dawdle in dealing with the demons but to hurry up and finish in time for class. Still, Eva slipped into the uniform without comment and demanded, "Fetch me my cloak."

Chachamaru obeyed and draped the cloak around her master's shoulders.

As the android was fastening the clasps and brushing smooth the concealing black cloak, Eva suddenly asked, "So, where are they?" Surprised by the disrupted silence, Chachamaru could only stammer, "Master?"

"The demons!" Eva snapped, exasperated yet again.

"West point of the forest," Chachamaru recovered in time, motors working as quickly as they could.

"Thank you for the quick response," Eva said sarcastically. "I expect breakfast by the time I get back."

Chachamaru nodded, inwardly wondering about Eva's lingering irritation. It wasn't like the vampire to hold a grudge when the problem had to deal with Negi. Of course, the vampire, being naturally – though not exactly by habit – nocturnal, was not much of a morning person.

"Make it either microwavable or quickly prepared; you know how ravenous I get after a full moon. Oh, and tell boya where I am if I don't make it back for class. It'll be a good chance for him to test out his new powers."

"Yes master," Chachamaru acknowledged to the slamming of the door.

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With Eva gone, Chachamaru set to mixing up some pancake batter, taking red syrup out of the fridge while an eggbeater replaced the index finger of her right hand. Small and powerful, it set to whipping up the pancake mix and eggs as Chachamaru thought planned ahead half a day. A moment later, she decided to make a trip to the hospital to get another package of blood for Eva. She was pretty sure that Negi wouldn't want to get sucked dry so soon in life… No, not at all.

So, with her duties finished for the moment, Chachamaru set to worrying about her master once again.

Eva had acted quite strangely that morning for no reason at all. She had been just fine the night before though a dream had plagued her sleep. So, backtracking from there, she found herself dwelling upon the events in the resort that afternoon.

Chachamaru accessed her memory bank and pulled up the video feed of the events of the day before. She cycled through the beginning and skipped past Setsuna's fight with her master and speeding through Negi's explanation of the adventure in Wales. Satisfied at the scene frozen in her vision, Chachamaru commanded it to play while she continued preparing the pancake batter for when Eva finally returned… hopefully with less irritation and ravenous enough for regular food to ignore her craving for blood.

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"_Still," Eva sighed, "I'd like to know what that ball does." Without warning, a volley of ice bolts streaked towards Negi, faster than he could react. Instead of hitting him dead on though, they split away from him as if something nudged them out of the way, off target. The bolts streaked past him and hit the ground with small smoldering craters in the sound. _

"_Master, what was that for?" Negi demanded. A low ring chimed, attracting Eva's attention. The dark mage ignored Negi and stared hard at the sphere of light. She frowned and launched another spell at Negi to the boy's dismay._

_He dodged out of the magical arrows' way but another three streaked behind him. In response, the hovering orb moved in a flash. The projectiles were nudged aside once again before Negi could even move. A second chime, a subtle higher pitch, followed. This time, Negi looked up at the strange orb that had saved him twice in a row. Within the harsh radiance was a faint black outline. Negi squinted and could only barely make out the Roman numeral for two._

"_Interesting," Eva muttered darkly, sending a shiver down Negi's spine. __**"Undeduocenti spiritus glaciales, coeuntes inimicum… SAGITTENT!" **_

"_Gah!" was all Negi could say as he stared up at the one-hundred-and-ninety-nine plummeting stars. The exlosion sent up great clouds of dust that covered everything in sight. The girls coughed and coughed, trying to clear their throats of the powdery stuff that had scattered everywhere._

"_Where's Negi-kun?" someone asked. _

_A shadow loomed over head to the sound of rapid chimes. A spear lifted clear out of the dust, half-formed. _

_They recognized it as one mind. "That's…!" they exclaimed._

"_The devil," Asuna hissed._

Eva blocked the spear with her barrier, flinging away the weapon with a negligent wave. The weapon leapt free of Negi's hand, leaving him wide open for the drop kick that followed. A sand crater formed where he lay, semi-conscious from the blow. Chachamaru noted that Eva was panting slightly and that her limp left arm was quivering slightly.

"Why are you all so pale? I didn't hurt him that badly," Eva growled, "though I suddenly have a very strange and violent urge to shed some blood."

"That spear…" Nodoka murmured. "It was in my dream."

"Really? It was in mine too!" Haruna concurred.

"Mine also!" Konoka another agreed

"Anyone else?" Asuna asked in amazement

"So that means you had it too?" Chisame needled.

"Same goes for you and me," Yue remarked

"Uh… me too," Setsuna finished

"This touching moment of unity and agreement is great and all," Eva smiled unpleasantly, "but would someone mind telling me what's going on in those thick heads of yours, or is reason too far for your minds to reach?" Eva looked over her nails which seemed to be glowing rather intensely for it to be the sunlight's work.

Yet, before his partners could explain, Negi groaned. "What happened?" he murmured, unable to get all the way upright.

"You just tried to kill me," Eva crossed her arms.

"What!" Asuna exclaimed.

"Negi-sensei wouldn't do that!" Nodoka added.

"I wasn't being sarcastic. I could feel his killing intent before he deflected my magic."

"Setsuna-san?" Yue asked for a second opinion.

The swordsman nodded slowly. "I could feel it too," she agreed.

Negi was obviously not following along. "Deflected your magic? How?" he asked.

"That little ball of light?" Eva gestured to where the sphere hung idly in the air. With the help of Asuna's support, Negi managed to stand up though he was swaying chaotically on his feet. "It messes with gravity and pulls my magic away from you so that it is almost like a barrier, except more effective."

"And where'd the spear come from?" Negi gave her another question. It seemed he believed she had all the answers.

"I'm not sure, but I'm willing to bet it is a feature of that sphere. Where's that weapons of yours, boya?"

"The spear?" Negi looked around and pointed to where it lay on the golden sand. "It's over…" he started and trailed off, eyes widening.

Eva felt his shock through his eyes and his posture. "What's wrong?"

"It can't be… it was supposed to be a dream. Only a dream…"

"Negi-sensei, you had it too?" Konoka asked worriedly.

"What do you mean? Did you see it too?"

Eva sighed and snapped, "Once again, this is hilarious and all (though I'm not laughing), but if you're all planning to be consistently cryptic or closemouthed about this dream of yours… How about this, boya? I'll give you another bath."

"Another bath, what does she mean?" Asuna asked.

"It-It's nothing. Really… nothing," Negi blushed, thinking back on the first and last time he had ever consulted Eva on a matter before coming first that it was consultation without a fee.

"So, are you going to tell me?

"Well… I've been having dreams lately," Negi started.

"Dreams… right," Eva nodded sagely.

"No, really master, I've been having dreams about… about someone who looks exactly like I do… killing people."

"Oh, now that's different," Eva grinned dramatically.

"I'm trying to be serious here, Eva-san!"

Eva-san's smile slipped off her face. Suddenly, serious, she said, "I see. Please go on then."

"No need to be so polite all of a sudden," Asuna muttered.

"Shut it, brat!"

"Well… that was really all there was to it… except for the fact that the weapon that I used within the dream is that same spear lying over there."

"Ah, everything makes so much more sense now and that does seem to be a problem, but what's there to worry about. I really can't see you being a cold-blooded murder boya. Are… are you sure it wasn't me that you saw?"

"It was one of those conscious thought dreams, master. I could think and even speak, though nothing and no-one heard me."

"You mean to tell me you're a Dream Walker and that you experienced something that hasn't occurred in over three decades?"

"Uh… yes," Negi replied hesitantly.

"That's impossible!" Eva shouted.

"Very possible," Konoka corrected.

"And why do you say that?"

"Negi is a genius after all," Konoka smiled.

"Why thank you for telling us the obvious."

Chisame had enough of this 'on another note' stuff and demanded, "Why do we all share the same dream?"

"That's because you're all linked," Eva explained, rolling her eyes.

"Linked, linked how?"

Eva gave the sky a look that told the girls that she couldn't tell if their heads were empty or if they were all just plain ignorant. "Your partnerships of course!"

"But, why would we have the same dream just because we're linked?" Asuna rubbed her head.

"Because you're connected, you dimwit!" Eva shouted in exasperation. "The magic flows between you and boya! The stones offer a magical boost which creates a semi-prescient effect that hasn't occurred in about three decades."

Asuna gave her a blank stare. "Semi… semi, whatever you said! What does that mean?"

Konoka giggled, "It seems Asuna's ability use big words amounts to nothing more but luck."

"Yeah, well I don't see you explaining what she said!"

Konoka cleared her throat and said, "Well, Prescience means foreknowledge of events, which basically means future sight in a sense. Semi-prescience means that you can see tidbits of the future but without the ability to control when and where."

Asuna gaped, "How… how do you know all this?"

"She's the head of the fortune telling club," Haruna told the dumbstruck girl, hiding her smile behind a hand.

"Pretty impressive," Eva told her. Konoka smiled at her in response.

Not to be stopped, Asuna prodded, "So then, how do we stop dreaming?"

"Unfortunately, boya will have to deal with it no matter what we do, but there might be something that can stop this… side-effect or you people."

"What is that?"

"You can break the link by ending your pacts with Negi. That essentially ends the magic path between the dream and your minds."

"True, that did seem to work…" Negi muttered.

"Did?" Eva asked in puzzlement.

"In the dream, Chamo-kun broke the pactios between the alter me and his alter partners to end a spell that seemed to drain their strength."

"So, what are your answers?" Eva inquired. "Even without the ermine, boya can do that himself."

"Only with your assent," Negi added quickly.

A short silence followed before Asuna grinned and said, "Do you really think we'll leave you all alone when we refused to the first time?"

"So…" Negi started hesitantly.

"Of course we won't abandon you, Negi-sensei!" came the chorus of replies.

"Thank you so much everyone!"

Eva groaned, "Ugh, how sappy can you get? I swear, every time you fools come here it makes me want to gag!"

The image froze.

Chachamaru was out of time. The pancake batter was finished and she needed to get going before class started without her. It was only as she changed from her maid clothes to her school uniform that she realized that Eva had not yet returned. If she was to talk to Negi, she had to get to school fast!

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"Negi-sensei," Chachamaru stopped the child teacher outside the classroom before the usual chaos of her classmates prevented her from fulfilling her mission.

"Good morning, Chachamaru-san," Negi greeted his student with a bow.

Chachamaru waited a second for her machinery to calm down, bowing to stall for time. After greeting in reply, she continued on to Eva's message in her usual monotone.

"Master requests your presence in the woods, Negi-sensei."

"But the class," Negi protested immediately.

"She said it was of the utmost importance."

Negi sighed. "She'll kill me if I don't go, right?" he asked rhetorically.

"Most probably," Chachamaru replied, eliciting another sigh from Negi.

"Then I'll be going soon, Chachamaru-san."

"Going soon?" Chachamaru inquired. "Aren't you leaving now?"

"I have to get another teacher to take over class for me."

"Ah, right," Chachamaru agreed.

"You should go inside first," Negi called to the android as he raced away to the Teacher's Lounge.

Once there, he immediately located Shizuna.

"Shizuna-san, where's Takamichi?" he asked urgently.

Shizuna gave the child teacher a smile and replied, "Oh, he called in sick today. Something about a cold, he said."

"Hmm, Takamichi is sick too? Ah, that's unfortunate. I needed someone to help me look after my class because I have to go somewhere."

"What about Seruhiko-san? I think he's available. His class went on a combined field trip with another class so Seruhiko-san doesn't need to teach today."

"Oh, then could you ask him to take over for me?"

"Sure, Negi-sensei, but where are you going?"

"Ah, I have something to take care of. I'll talk to you later then, Shizuna-san. Thanks again."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Negi walked in quite rushed and took a second to catch his breath before he said, "Good morning class."

After they returned the greeting, he announced, "Unfortunately, I need to go somewhere soon so I'll only be able to take role." A chorus of groans accompanied his apology but he took it in stride. "Sayo-san is here, next is…"

"Ano, excuse me Negi-sensei," Ayaka interrupted. "Where is Konoka-san this morning?"

"Worried about Asuna-san, Iinchou-san?"

"Ah, no. I was wondering why Konoka-san would miss a day of school. She usually has perfect attendance."

"Asuna-san was sick this morning so Konoka-san stayed behind to keep her company."

Chisame looked up at that comment. _'Weren't they at each other's throats yesterday?'_ she thought. _'I feel like I'm forgetting something…'_

"Ah, I see…" Ayaka conceded the point.

A knock at the door after she had taken a seat took over the class's attention. As the door opened, someone called, "Negi-san?"

"Ah, Seruhiko-san, thanks for coming."

"No problem, Negi-sensei," he assured him, changing to a politer form of speech when he saw that the students were staring at him. "Good morning everyone," he told them, somewhat nervously.

"I'll be off then," Negi announced.

"Have a safe trip," the class wished him luck.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The woods are strangely quiet," Negi commented just to hear his own voice. "The birds should be chirping at this hour in the morning. Yet, there's no sound…"

The forest whispered ominously in the wind, branches shaking with the fallen leaves blowing in circles. Negi grew increasingly apprehensive as he traveled through the forest. What had caused this strange silence within the forest?

His answer met his eyes the moment he stepped into the clearing that led to Eva's resort.

"What's this?" Negi exclaimed at the web of wire that covered the entire clearing. Within, two writhing demons bled great gouts of black blood as they tried to walk out of the trap, the wires cutting their bodies to shreds. One of the demons was a giant bear-like beast with wicked claws while the other one had wings that tapered to sharp points. Its body was shaped closer to a bird then anything else Negi could describe.

"Ah, you're finally here," a familiar voice called out from above. Negi looked up to see Eva napping on a tree branch. "It was getting boring, Negi. What took you so long? The blood shower was the best thing I've seen in awhile. You should have gotten here sooner; you could have taken a sorely needed bath."

"Eva-san!"

"What? Can't I enjoy myself once in awhile? It was a full moon yesterday night. Ah… don't tell me you'd rather I occupy myself with your blood?" Eva licked her lips thoughtfully.

"No, I don't!"

"Relax, boya, I'm just joking."

"It didn't sound like you were…" Negi muttered with a sigh of relief.

"Huh. Did you say something?"

"No, nothing."

Eva lounged luxuriously in her perch and said, "Well, I think it is time enough to release these demons, don't you think so too?"

"What?"

"How else are we going to try out your artifact?" Eva asked slyly.

"Didn't we do that yesterday?" Negi panicked.

"True, but I wasn't trying to kill you then," Eva pointed out. "Where's the urgency in sparring?"

"Uh huh, right… Wait, why am I agreeing with you?"

"Oh whoops, a slip of the hand. They're all yours, boya."

"W-Wait, what?"

Eva smirked as her trap of wires faded away, leaving Negi wide open for attack.

Predictably, the first demon lunged at him, its claws raking the air as Negi ducked under it and dodged around it. He leaped clear of the next one, mind already starting the basic incantations but a movement in the corner of his eye distracted him. Negi stepped around a blade of feathers that clipped a stray lock of hair from his ponytail. He ducked under the next one, already transitioning into a leg sweep that took the clawed demon by surprise. "There's no time to start a spell!" he called out as he blocked a kick and returned his own, adding a punch to his momentum.

"Of course not," Eva said from above, smiling in her front row seat. "Maybe it'd be different if you had a weapon…?"

"I'm not touching that card," Negi told her stubbornly as he leaped over the clawed demon, using its shoulders as a stepping stone to kick the other one out of the air.

"**Ras Tel Ma Scir Magister," **he started, aura flaring as his incantation key unlocked his magical reserves. He landed at the edge of the clearing, power gathering in orbs around him. **"Release and Fire!"** he commanded the spell, launching seven magic arrows at the two recovering demons.

The minor explosions from the impact created a cloud of dust that Negi used as cover to slip right under the guard of the winged demon. He grabbed it by the leg and swung it into the other one at such an angle that its sharp feathers skewered the chest of the other demons as the claws of the latter ripped through the torso of the former.

Negi gave Eva a look that plainly said, "What did I tell you?"

"Look behind you," Eva told him casually in response to his even stare.

Negi cocked his head in question but obeyed. Behind him, the demons he had ripped apart slowly stood back up though blood stained their bodies and blackened the grass under their feet.

"What? How?" Negi spluttered.

The clawed demon gave a barking laugh and said, "Why insult us so, Great Master? You know we cannot die until we bring you to our ruler."

"Great Master? You mean me?" the boy asked.

"Who else would have such a great and morbid aura?" the feathered one asked in response.

Negi grit his teeth as the two staggered towards him, their bodies already showing signs of healing. With a battle cry, he dashed towards the two and jumped straight into battle once again, palm strikes blowing the demons away as he spun away from their retaliatory strikes, weaving in between their limbs, ducking under and leaping over claws and wings.

Negi soon found that fatigue plagued his body, however, when exhaustion tripped him enough to allow one of the demons to give him a blow that sent him flying. Within seconds, he was trapped with a tree to his back and the demons to either side.

Negi growled, knowing what Eva was going to shout before he whipped out his card and yelled, **"Adeat!"**

True enough, Eva laughed and shouted to the skies, "I told you so!"

Contrary to the vampire's mirth, one of the demons growled and said, "Do you wish for death that much, Great Master? Dressing like a hunk of meat won't do you any good."

"Though you look mighty tasty," the other added.

"Master? What do I do? What's the point of an illusion if I can't control it?"

"Are you really my apprentice?" Eva asked, lounging with a smile. "I thought the first thing I taught you was to think for yourself unless I told you otherwise."

"Eva-san!" Negi cried pleadingly as the demons stepped closer, one drooling while the other licked its lips.

"Fine, fine! Your punishment for tonight is… let's see, buy me dinner and give a goblet of blood. How's that soun-"

"EVANGELINE!"

Eva's breath caught in her throat before she brushed it away with a nervous chuckle. "All right! All right! All you have to do is to envision yourself as how you want others to see you. Keep that thought in your mind until you want to dispel the illusion."

Negi nodded and thought hard about his appearance. "Hey, where'd the Great Master go?" one of the demons asked, giving the first hint that Negi had succeeded.

But, "Don't worry," the other told the first. "Great Master's aura is still here."

"Do you hear something?" Eva asked the two demons.

The winged one turned towards her and snarled, "Vampire, you may have hindered us at first, but you cannot stop us from fulfilling our mission."

"Ignore me all you want, but that'd be just plain foolish," Eva yawned negligently.

"…**Magister."**

"How so, blood-sucker?" the demon demanded indignantly.

"**Shining sparks, swirling thunder…"**

Eva waved a hand dismissively. "Because it's the sound of your destruction, fool," Eva laughed.

"**Come together forming a crushing Lightning Fang!"**

A roar of thunder reverberated through the clearing along with roars of pain as demon flesh cooked and was ripped apart by electric teeth.

Negi slowly faded into view, turning away from the blackened corpses to gag at the stench.

"I admit, you got us by surprise," one of the corpses spoke, standing off. It shook itself free of the dirty ash that had once been part of its body.

"If I was on guard, I could have saved us some pain," the other corpse dusted off its body.

"What monsters! They just won't die!" Negi exclaimed, a hint of despair stealing his breath.

Eva jumped down and sighed. "This got boring too quickly. **Lizard with Eight Legs and Evil Eyes! Breath of Poison Stealing Time! Breath of Stone!"**

"W-What?" the demons exclaimed as they tried to take a step forward… and failed. Their legs had already turned into stone. Quickly, the petrification spell raced up their bodies. "You… Blood-sucker, why did you have to interfere?"

"Blood-sucker I may be, but a demon I am not. That is all I will tell you, miserable fools."

"Aaargh!" the demon yelled as it reached for Eva's neck. Before it could do so, however, its hand froze into a reaching pose and set in stone.

"This is not the last you'll see of me, blood-sucker. I'll be back for the Great Master, the dark one who will control the light with a word," the demon gloated despite its imminent demise. With a cackling rumble, it laughed hysterically, a tone of triumph in its voice which gave even Eva the shivers.

"Silence, scum of shadows," a very dark voice commanded, "your voice tires me." With the words came action, a spear beheading the demon in one swift motion. The shaft of the same spear struck the petrified remains in the chest, shattering it into a million tiny pieces.

"Great Master, you have awakened!" the other demon crowed.

"Flattery'll get you nowhere," Negi laughed as he tipped over the demon with a foot, stepping on its chest and twirling his spear before he brought it down with a crunch. A sickening slurp accompanied the spears path back out of the demon's head before it disappeared in a cloud of dark particles.

"Boya," Eva scowled, "Where's your self-control?"

"Eva…" Negi dropped to the ground. "What did I do?"

Eva found herself tongue-tied for the second time that day. She shrugged it off once again and told him, in a slightly comforting tone of voice, "You've never had a problem until today, so this might come as a shock to you, but everyone has darkness within them, Negi."

Negi wiped his eyes and sniveled. "Thank you, Eva-san."

"It's master to you, boya," Eva corrected half-heartedly, hiding her flushing face by turning away dismissively. "I can't believe you pulled that one out of me. Really, I'm not cut out as a teacher. I really should just turn you into a blood farm soon."

"Really, Eva-san, thanks."

Eva blushed, thanking her insight in keeping her back to Negi before he would think she was soft…

"Let's go back to the resort. Class should have ended by now, and I need to talk to you about various things, none of which you'll like I hope."

"But Master!"

"No whining, boya. You knew my terms for apprenticing you beforehand; I'm not letting you go just yet."

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'_Keep a watch on the new kid during class; keep watch for anyone suspicious outside of it. If the pay wasn't this good…'_ Mana sighed to herself as she lounged on the windowsill of the tall bell tower, sniper propped against her knee. Her razor keen eyes scanned the still campus as the sun darted behind a cover of clouds.

"Job score: negative points," she muttered aloud as there was no one else there to comment on her boredom.

Then, a flicker edged into her sight, under her half-veiled eyes. There, it appeared again. Mana snapped her eyes open on full alert, already off the windowsill and crouched within cover, sniper resting on confidently within her arms and ready to shoot at a moment's notice. She set the scope to her right eye as she tracked the gleam with the other.

"Got you…" she murmured as her index finger settled comfortably upon the trigger. Mana grinned as the recoil jerked her arm back signaling the release of the tranquilizer dart loaded within the sniper's barrel. A slight whistle accompanied the echoes of the trigger's click as the dart shot towards the cloaked figure halfway across the campus.

"Wow, you almost got me there," a voice commented from behind her. It was her fast reflexes that saved her there, setting Mana's nerves on fire as she leaped out the window, turning to fire two more darts as her body tumbled to the roof of a nearby building. She rolled to cancel the jolt of the impact and fired another two more darts at the magic bolts that followed her down, the physical object altering the magic cleanly into a useless form. Mana frowned as she quickly performed the motions of reloading the long barreled sniper quicker than most people's eyes could follow. Her eyes glared upward all the while at the cloaked figure that was now sitting upon the very same windowsill she had been occupying a few moments before.

The sun came out from behind the clouds, its light lengthening the shadows around Mana, the bell tower's darkness encompassing her as her hands finished their actions, a click of readiness spurning her to further movement. She immediately crouched and brought the sniper up to aim at the figure.

"**Shadow Bind,"** the figure whispered eerily. As if to his very command, the shadow of the bell tower came alive and wrapped its form around Mana's legs, arms, and neck, a touch so silky it reminded her of cloth.

"I'm sorry, miss, you'll have to come with me," the figure told her as it swung its legs childishly into the air. "First, I'll have to ask you to put that large weapon aside; guns are very dangerous, if you didn't know."

Mana's response was to pull out a gleaming knife that glowed despite the shadows blocking the light from its blade. Three quick movements freed her from the spell and a fourth sent her leaping out of the darkness, her fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth movements sending two Ki infused bullets out of her handguns.

The bullets ripped through the figure with angry shrieks, tattering apart the cloak, and whatever it was hiding, with no resistance. Mana's breathing was barely quickened as she jumped back up to the bell tower via a nearby, taller building, collecting her sniper at the same time; she had dropped it when she had unsheathed the shrine's ritual blade.

Once back within the bell tower, she frowned at the cloak, shifting it open with a booted toe to reveal its contents to the light. There was nothing there. "Tch. He got away…"

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"Chachamaru, get me some tea," Eva called into the cottage, stepping out of her shoes as Negi moved his own pair off to the side, out of the way of anyone going in or out the door.

"Master, welcome back," Chachamaru greeted Eva with a cup of tea proffered. Eva nodded her thanks and walked into the living room while commanding, "Boya, come here; there's more I need to talk to you about."

Chachamaru bowed respectfully and greeted Negi-sensei as the boy scrambled to follow his teacher. "Good afternoon to you too, Chachamaru-san," Negi told her with his own bow before heading farther into the cottage.

"Oho, he's finally here," a familiar voice greeted Negi as he stepped into the living room.

"Haruna-san," Negi gasped. He was shocked to see the mangaka here, in the afternoon of all times when she was usually off doing something else.

"Yo," she greeted, sprawled on the couch, ignoring Eva's angry glare as the vampire settled down in a chair that was not quite as comfortable.

"Excuse us," four voices called out from the entrance as Negi took a seat beside Haruna.

"Yue-san, Nodoka-san," Negi greeted the two girls with pleasant shock as they smiled at him and remained standing, not sure where to sit, but it was the last two that really surprised him. "Konoka-san, Asuna-san?" he exclaimed to see the two up and about.

"What was that about being sick?" Asuna asked indignantly as she plopped down on the ground next to Konoka who sat on the edge of the coffee table. "I just overslept, that's all."

"Overslept?" Negi glared. "You wouldn't wake up no matter how hard Konoka-san and I shook you. We thought you had fallen into a coma, Asuna-san! Really, don't shrug off serious matters like this."

"Thanks for worrying then," Asuna grinned to counter his glare. "But quit yelling; I have a headache."

"This is touching and all, really," Eva added at Asuna's withering stare, "but we have better things to talk about."

"First of all…" Eva started, glancing slyly at Asuna.

"W-What?" she asked, slightly unnerved.

"Where do we sit?" Nodoka inquired when it became apparent that Eva was waiting a guess.

Eva scowled and the interruption and called out, "Chachamaru, fetch us some chairs."

"Yes master," was the reply, and soon enough, Nodoka, Yue, and Konoka were seated.

Asuna remained seated on the ground with a comment of "Whatever," when Chachamaru informed them they only had three chairs.

"Off-topic, I know," Haruna said, "but why do you have three chairs in the kitchen? Eva-chan is the only one who needs to eat and only two chairs are needed if you count Chachamaru-san."

"Irrelevant," Eva brushed off the question. "And don't call me that, but since you're all so brain-dead today, I'll start by asking you all why Baka Red didn't wake up this morning."

When no one answered, she added, "Well?"

"Uh, you mean to tell us you don't know, master?" Negi inquired hesitantly.

"Of course I don't know, you idiot. Why would be asking if I knew? Besides, dreams aren't my thing."

"Oh, of course they're not," Haruna commented with a devious smile.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Does the name 'Nagi' spark any memories?"

Eva blushed and growled, "One more comment out of you and I'll revive Chachazero with what little magic I can drain from your blood."

Haruna saluted and whistled nonchalantly.

"Why did you mention dreams?" Nodoka inquired.

"Because the issues in today's discussion are these dreams you share! Got it?" Eva growled. Nodoka squeaked and nodded. "Awfully skittish these days, aren't you?" she asked Nodoka. "I thought you had gotten over it. Maybe you have a secret?"

Nodoka shook her head so violently in response that the people around her edged away from the gale of movement. Eva shrugged it off and continued.

"Your pactios seem to be the common-link between each of you and boya. I already proposed breaking the link but you all refused. As of now, I don't know what you should do to stop these dreams, and it'll cost you if you want me to look through my vast collection of books."

"But what is sending these dreams?" Yue asked.

"Didn't I explain clearly yesterday? Nothing is sending these dreams. These are glimpses at a possible future. I don't even know what you've seen though, so I'm afraid I really can't help. If these dreams were all interconnected then it might be different, but…"

"Interconnected? What do you mean by that?" Negi asked with a sinking suspicion.

"Interconnected means just what it sounds like. Are the dreams connected to each other either sequentially, historically, or by events?"

"Geez, you sound like a textbook," Asuna commented.

"Or one of those surveys that Grandfather makes people do," Konoka added cheerfully.

"Why are you two evading the question?" Eva demanded. "You're horrible actors if you didn't realize that by now. Did you all have a dream last night?" Turning to Negi with palms glowing, Eva asked,"Well? Are you going to tell me or will I have to carry out yesterday's threat?"

"Yes," Negi finally admitted, "And it was directly after the last one."

"Sequential dreams with the same history and related by events," Eva narrowed her eyes. "Is that what you mean?"

Negi nodded sullenly. "Well then… good luck messing with fate," Eva told him.

"Fate? What does fate have to do with it?"

"An obscure legend lost from human history states that Fate is a being that controls time and the lives of humans, cursed by its power and responsibility to watch the endless tragic ends of humanity. Once in awhile, Fate sends warnings to those with enough power and purity to understand and strive to break free of her strings. I've seen no one that could do it, but then again, I don't believe in fate."

An uncomfortable silence hung about the room.

"Well then, tell me about this dream of yours and how it relates to Baka Red's headache."

"Hey! I don't understand how you can pack so many insults a single day without being knocked out cold!"

"Because no one can touch me?"

"Oh, you're going to regret those words!"

As the others restrained Asuna back from leaping on Eva, Haruna whispered to vampire, "Way to change the subject."

"Why thank you…" Eva smirked. "Chachamaru, bring me Chachazero!"

"Yes master…"

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**Dream/Flashback**

"This way!" Chisame yelled to the other girls. "There's a gap here; I can see the forest."

The girls poured into the gap, waving each other on. Before long, they had all disappeared.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Takahata-sensei," Asuna half-grinned up at her teacher.

Takamichi looked at her in shock. He had thought she had left too. "Asuna-san, it's too dangerous to stay here. You should go with the others. You're the only one who has a weapon; you're the only one who can protect them."

"I can't protect them all; I know now that I'm not that strong. The others don't have their pactios and that's why I need to stay here, to buy them as much time as I can. And… Negi would want me to do this. Besides, if I'm here, he won't be able to get past us, as long as I'm his target."

"Why is Negi doing this?" Takamichi asked gently as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"That's not Negi," Asuna answered. "That's a wolf in sheepskin."

Dream-Negi took that moment to hiss out an incantation. Ice and stone spires erupted from the ground. The earth shattered with a roar as thunderbolts smashed through dirt and mud, lighting sparse vegetation on fire. Asuna dodged to the side as the magic attacked from above and below. Takamichi smashed the spires in his path as he walked forward at a leisurely pace. Yet though his pace was slow, the raining thunder still lagged behind him.

Dream-Negi blocked Takamichi's blows easily, backing out of his range and consecutively dodging Asuna's long blade. A slight frown darkened his face as he spun around another slash and kicked Asuna away into the path of a growing spire. Takamichi was there in an instant, pausing only to catch the girl before leaping out of danger.

"This isn't working, Asuna-san," Takamichi told Asuna as he leaped away from another sharp spire. It seemed Asuna was fighting against a blush when her face tinged slightly red.

"I know," Asuna agreed, "but what can we do? That stupid drain thing took most of my strength away. I can't form the kanka or even shundo!"

"I have an idea, Asuna-san. Unfortunately, we don't have the time to discuss this. Just trust me. I'll make an opening for you; make sure you take it."

She hesitated but there was no time to inquire. Twenty seven magica bolts blasted towards the two – light, darkness, air, ice, water, fire, earth, thunder, acid.

She nodded.

Asuna's magic canceller took the hit, reflecting into the ground the bolts not dissipated or absorbed. Behind her, Takamichi focused his power, his hands glowing.

With a flash, his kanka activated, blowing apart a second volley of arrows in mid-air. He lunged forward, throwing bombardment after bombardment, slowly driving the doppelganger back. The fight was fierce. While attacking, Takamichi had to make sure he left no openings for the demon to exploit. In the end, though, he made his move. His attacks had pushed Dream-Negi into a part of the battlefield where spires rose in a wall all around him. With a final gathering of energy, Takamichi flung his last beam of light, hitting the enemy straight on. Still, the tremendous force was not strong enough to break his guard, though it pushed Dream-Negi back farther and farther through more than one spire.

Its feet finally found purchase on the ground and it dug its heels in, slowing down. However, that did not signify the reversal of attacker and defender.

"I've got you now!" Asuna cried from behind Dream-Negi, dashing from behind a rock spire and plunging her blade into his back with a sickening crunch. Takamichi's beam disappeared, leaving behind a cloud of dust.

The dust settled to reveal the demon pierced through the chest by her blade. However, the demon did not collapse. Instead, Dream-Negi turned around so quickly that Asuna' blade snapped in two. He ignored the blade in its chest and raised a hand. His lips so fast that they blurred yet no sound could be heard. Long lances of energy shimmering with power formed above the doppelganger's hand, drawing spirals of energy into their slim bodies.

Asuna, still breathing heavily, couldn't understand what had happened. Her reaction was too slow when the lances dove through the air through her. But before she could be impaled by the spell, she disappeared in a blur.

"Asuna-san, are you all right?" Takamichi asked in concern, dashing farther and farther from the doppelganger.

"Y-Yes," Asuna stammered, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks from being held so close by the man.

A racking cough broke her out of her daze, eyes looking up to focus on a trickle of blood that made a line down from Takamichi's mouth.

"Takahata-sensei!" Asuna gasped.

The man groaned in pain but the gentle smile never left his face as he stumbled and collapsed, still worrying about his charge as they fell, turning his body so that Asuna landed on him instead of the hard ground. "Takamichi-sensei!" she cried again as she helped him sit against a nearby rocky spire. So intent was her attention on her wounded teacher that she did not see Dream-Negi as he started to walk towards them, spear dripping red liquid.

"No, don't move, Takahata-sensei," Asuna ordered in a panic when her teacher's hand reached into a pocket. Takamichi ignored her and pulled out two things. One was a pack of cigarettes, the other a crystal marble. His other hand reached into the inner pocket of his coat as he handed the blue orb to Asuna.

"Take this, and make sure you have it no matter what may happen to you," he told her steadily.

"Don't waste your breath on a trinket," Asuna pleaded. 'Just save your strength, you'll be all right."

Takamichi took the lighter out of his pocket and drew a cigarette out of its pack. As he did so, he said, "It was the Headmaster's final wish to make sure the princess's memories reached her body."

Tears fell freely from Asuna's eyes as she took the orb from Takamichi's trembling hands. "The Headmaster?" she choked out.

Takamichi nodded slowly and winced. He put the cigarette to his lips and tried to light it, but the lighter's flame kept missing its small target. With sobs, Asuna grabbed the lighter and helped him light it, the flame unsteady in her shaking hands.

"Cigarettes are bad for you," Asuna told him in a quivering voice.

"Don't worry… Asuna-san, my 'father' lived this way too…"

Takamichi turned his head towards Asuna, still smiling, and said, "I'm sorry for hiding this from you."

"W-What?" Asuna asked. Suddenly, the marble in her hand started glowing in reaction to Takamichi's words. She tried to drop it but Takamichi closed her hand tight around the marble.

Takamichi turned from Asuna and stared directly at where the real Negi floated. "Sorry," he mouthed and then intoned, **"Key to memories, lock of the soul, receive your lost kin though blood joined."** Takamichi wiped a bloodied sleeve across the glowing marble and across Asuna's hand and the marble before she could react.

Dream-Negi kicked Takamichi's body to the side to look down at Asuna, who had fainted from the rush of energy that flowed from Takamichi's hand to her own.

Dream-Negi raised his spear… and hesitated for a second as Negi shouted with all his might. "No!"

Then, the spear started its descent and…

**End Dream/Flashback**

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The room was quiet, filled with a dark atmosphere. Negi and his partners sat still, unmoving with no words, staring at the floor. Eva, on the other hand, was thriving within this darkness. Better yet, the moon had already come out, though the sky was still a darkening blue, filling her with ecstatic energy.

"Why look so grim? The chance of any of that happening is extremely small. After all, the future has too many factors in it for dreams to be anything close to precise. Now, does anyone want to donate some blood?"

There was a common mutter of quick disagreement to her suggestion. "Oh really now, I'm sure I'll need all the energy I can get if I'm to research this dream thing for you."

When no one gave further comment, Eva sighed, "There goes my attempt at trying to break the tension. Ah, well, Chachamaru, prepare breakfast please."

"Wait, what?" Setsuna exclaimed in surprise.

"Pancakes with syrup," Eva replied.

Konoka inquired, "Why are you eating breakfast now? Do you mean dinner?"

"Are pancakes dinner material?" Eva questioned back. "Since I haven't eaten breakfast yet today, I figure might as well eat it now. It's just about ready anyways. Care to join?"

"Eva-san…" Negi started slowly, starting to grow angry at her flippant attitude.

"Ah, sorry boya, I need you to run an errand first."

Negi blinked. "Errand… what kind of errand?"

"I need you to fetch that computer fanatic."

"Chisame-san? What for?"

"I have something important to talk to you all about and it will take awhile. Oh, and did I mention it is urgent? And besides, you wouldn't want your breakfast getting cold, would you?"

Negi thought that breakfast had nothing to do with the situation but his mouth formed the word, "Well…"

"Anymore talking and **my** breakfast will be getting cold," Eva hinted subtly. "We wouldn't want that either, would we?" she asked as sounds of frying pancakes came from the kitchen.

"Right…" Negi conceded thoughtfully.

"Wait a second, Negi-sensei," Yue piped up just as Negi started to get up. "I have two questions for Evangeline-san."

"Oh, and what are they, Yue-san?" Eva asked, emphasizing the honorific with great distaste and contempt.

"First, what is so important that you'd need all of us? Or rather, what is so important that you'd be willing to talk with us and even order Negi-sensei to get Chisame-san?"

"You'll see," Eva answered cryptically.

"If that answer could satisfy me, I wouldn't have asked," Yue told her in reply.

Eva sighed dramatically and said, "Since you're so adamant about this, I'll suppose I'll have to tell you… later. Now, I want to enjoy my breakfast!" And at that cue, Chachamaru placed a plate of fresh pancakes in front of Eva where it seemed to float in midair.

"Then let me rephrase my question," Yue continued stubbornly. "Why do you need to talk to all of us now, tonight, when it is dark? You'll have plenty of chances to talk to us tomorrow, after the last class of the week."

"It relates to the second question you'll ask."

"Really now? And what is my second question?"

"Your question is about why I didn't suggest we go to the resort, correct? It would go something like: 'Secondly, if this matter of yours would take such a long time to talk about, why did you not suggest we go to your resort? There would be plenty of time in there.'"

Eva poured a bit of syrup from the syrup dispenser Chachamaru gave her and took a bite of her pancake as she waited for Yue to nod. After the girl did so - albeit slowly - Eva answered her question. "I won't be able to let you people out of the resort early today, not like yesterday, and I don't think you would want to stay in a drugged sleep until the day in the resort was over. It's not good to waste your life like that. Even if you decided spending a day in there was a good idea, I wouldn't let you in anyways because I have no need of a bunch of noise-makers within my realm."

"Why were you able to let us out yesterday?" Nodoka asked.

Eva rolled her eyes though she answered nonetheless. "Yesterday night was a full moon, when my powers are at their fullest."

"But you have your full powers inside the resort all the time," Setsuna pointed out, having experienced that power first-hand during Mahora's Fighting Tournament.

"Yes, inside the resort I have full power, but not on the outside. My powers wouldn't reach outside on any night except a full moon so I wouldn't be able to teleport you irritating pests outside on those many days you bothered me for no reason at all. Speaking of the resort, I'm making modifications to it so it's locked up anyways." Then, Eva noticed that Negi was still standing there, listening. "What are you doing, Negi? It's almost full dark, get going already. Hop to it, I don't want to wait the whole night just for you to do your job! Or do you need further motivation…"

"No thank you, master, I'm leaving now!"

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"Yo, Negi-tan. What's happening?" Risc called out, suddenly jumping out from behind the World Tree as Negi passed at a light jog.

"Negi-tan?" Negi almost tripped from the combined surprise. "Risc-san, just _how_ old are you?"

"I'm older than you; why does it matter?" she asked nonchalantly as Negi picked himself up.

"Right, whatever you say," Negi replied skeptically.

"Hmph! Do I not look and or act older than you?" she demanded indignantly. When Negi just stared at her, she added, "Well, I won't gain anything by convincing you otherwise so think what you want."

Negi laughed at that. He gave her a grin and said, "Well then, good afternoon to you too, Risc-san."

Risc pouted and asked, "So where are you going, Negi-tan?"

Negi chuckled weakly at her continued use of the honorific. "I'm trying to find my student - your classmate. Her name is Chisame Hasegawa."

"So… Hasegawa-san, eh? She's the one in the back… with the computer, right?"

"That's right, Risc-san. Do you know her?"

"Eh? No, not really, but I'll come with you anyways. It's a good idea to meet new students, right?"

"Uh… well, I guess."

"So, where is she?"

"That, I don't know," Negi admitted. He looked around and sighed in relief when he saw a flash of poink. "Hey, that's Makie-san. Makie-san!"

"Negi-kun?" Makie stopped, jogging in place. "Sorry, I need to go somewhere."

"Wait, just give me one second of your time," Negi caught her arm.

A small blush crept up the girl's face and it obviously helped her decide that she could spare a few moments. "Oh, all right then. What do you need, Negi-kun?"

"Do you know where Chisame-san is?"

"Hmm… she'd probably be at the Kyudo Club around this time."

"Kyudo Club?"

"Yeah…" Makie told him vaguely before checking her watch. She yelped, at the time and ran off, calling back, "Sorry, Negi-kun, I need to go, now!"

"Ah, that's fine. Thanks a lot, Makie-san."

"No problem."

Risc waited a moment before asking, "Is she always in a rush like that?"

"No, not usually," Negi told her cheerfully, "but she is a very energetic girl so it wouldn't be a surprise if she just wanted to run or to go home quickly."

"I… see…"

"Anyways, do you know where the Kyudo Club is or even what Kyudo means?"

"Why are you asking me? I'm new here, and besides, you're the teacher and our expedition guide!"

'_When did this become and expedition?' _Negi blinked. Risc acted very much like two twins he knew.

"Well, Mahora really is a big place and I haven't really had the chance to explore more than a third of it…" he admitted.

'_And that was only because I had to fight Chao-san at the Festival…' _Negi added to himself.

Risc pulled something out from a pocket and grinned, "Good thing I brought a map then, right?"

"You did? Oh, that's great! What a relief!" Negi grinned back, grateful that they would be able to find their way after all.

"Of course." Risc's eyes narrowed and her pupils dilated. "After all, always got to be prepared for _anything_…" she asked. The seeming illusion was dispelled when she added in a high, singsong voice, "Right, Negi-tan?"

Negi blinked, "Uh, r-right…"

'_Maybe it was just my imagination?'_ he thought.

Risc skipped ahead, humming a tune as she traced their path with a finger on her map. Negi, still a bit unnerved, followed.

A few minutes later, Negi had gotten over the experience enough to attempt a conversation. "So, Risc-san, how long will you be staying here at Mahora?"

"About two months," she informed the child teacher.

"Two months? That's quite a long time. Won't your parents be worried?" Negi asked.

"No, not at all. After all, I am an orphan."

"Oh… uh… sorry. I didn't know."

"It's nothing to be worried about. My parents died a long time ago," Risc told him nonchalantly.

A couple minutes of silence passed before Negi had the courage to ask another question.

"Do you plan on joining any clubs, Risc-san?"

"Well… this Kyudo Club sounds interesting. Also, I think I might just join the Library Exploration Club... is what I want to say, but I unfortunately cannot get near that place without being stabbed in the back."

"Oh… right."

"Well, we're here."

"Reh? Already?"

Negi looked up to find a sign that clearly said, Kyudo Club. Next to the sign was a picture of a bow and a quiver of arrows.

"By the way, kyudo means Japanese Archery," Risc told him with mirth.

"If you knew, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

She laughed and opened the door. Inside, Negi found himself staring in awe. It was quite busy within – many people walked around while others sat polishing their bows while talking – but it was the club house that intrigued him. The entrance opened into a large room for the members to relax, but the there was only one door and only three walls. Where the final wall should have been, the space opened up onto a shooting range where people practiced their aim and power with the bow while dressed in the customary robes of their practice. Currently, the building was empty except for one person at the very end, who Negi found exceedingly familiar.

"Chisame-san!" Negi called out as he walked up behind her. She was so pre-occupied with drawing back the bowstring that she hadn't noticed Negi walk up behind her. With a startled cry, she let loose her arrow which hit the ceiling from her panicked aim, rebounding to graze Negi's arm.

"Sensei? This… this isn't what it looks like. No, I shouldn't be on the defensive… You brat, what are you doing here and how did you find me?" she would have went on but a tinge of red caught her attention. "Negi-sensei, you're bleeding!"

"Yes, that is quite obvious," Risc commented wryly from behind, grinning at the sudden change in Chisame's expression from embarrassed and angry to genuinely worried. Risc gave a short laugh when Chisame jumped in surprise yet again.

"Who are… Oh, your name is… Risc Trilon, right? Class 3-A's new transfer student… Why are you here?"

"That's a bit of a rude greeting, but I'm here to join this club, Hasegawa-sempai."

"S-Sempai?"

"Hmm… If you need to judge how good I am…" Risc murmured, picking up an old, battered-looking, discarded bow and a worn-out quiver of arrows from where someone had left it for repairs.

"Hey, don't use that bow!" Chisame warned.

"Is it yours?"

"Well… no, but…"

"Relax, I know what I'm doing."

"But that bow," Chisame tried again.

Risc ignored the girl and knocked an arrow on to the string. With one smooth motion, she pulled back and let it go. The arrow leapt out of her fingers and struck the target down the range dead center.

"See, I told you I know what I was doing."

Chisame sighed. "I hate to crash your party," she commented wryly, "but you're standing too far back. You're supposed to stand closer, at the line."

"Hey, I hit the target didn't I?"

"Well, yes, but that's not the point! There are certain rules you need to follow in any sport!"

"Wow, I've never heard you speak so passionately about anything but computers before now," Negi commented, having fetched a band-aid from a nearby first-aid box to take care of his wound.

"Quiet, brat," Chisame snapped angrily, but her rage was belied by a tinge of red creeping to her cheeks.

"Why don't we have a competition then," Risc challenged Chisame. "If I lose, I do as you wish and follow your rules. If I win, you give up your title of sempai and you will recognize me as your sempai instead."

Negi interrupted nervously. "Sorry Risc-san, but Chisame-san and I need to go... now…"

"So you're saying you don't think I can win?" Chisame snapped.

"N-No, Chisame-san, of course not!"

"Then sit back and watch!" she ordered.

"That's what I wanted to hear!" Risc cheered.

'_How did it come to this…?'_ Negi sobbed inwardly.

"There're robes in the changing room," Chisame told Risc as she checked the string on her bow to see if it had been damaged during her surprise before.

Risc shook her head. "Didn't you hear what I said? I'm playing by my own rules."

"Fine, but are you sure you want to use _that_ bow?" Chisame asked with a sidelong glance at the old bow.

Risc shrugged. "No one else wants it; I might as well put it to some use."

Chisame sighed and conceded the point, saying "It'll be your own fault if it makes you lose."

"It'll be my own fault even if it doesn't," Risc replied, a matter-of-factly.

Chisame growled, "Fine, suit yourself, but enough talking; let's start."

Chisame took a deep breath as she took her stance, nocked the arrow, and drew the string taut. As she released her breath, her fingers following her exhalation, the arrow sang a tune as it cut through the air, the whistle ending with a thud when its tip pierced through the center of the wooden target.

"Chisame-san, you're pretty good at this!" Negi commented.

"Be quiet; you're ruining my concentration!"

"No, really, you're pretty good at this," Risc echoed as she drew back her arrow. With a smile, she let it go almost idly on its path where it struck dead center.

"Is that sarcasm I detect from you?" Chisame snarled.

"Whatever you take it as is whatever it will be. Nothing I say can change what you think, right? Now, if you're not going to shoot, I'll take my second shot."

"Manner-less brat," Chisame hissed in reply.

She took another deep breath for calming purposes and let it out slowly. Just as before, her actions mirrored her breath, the arrow flying free of her grasp as she exhaled, and took a place next to its twin in the center of the wooden board.

Negi clapped silently.

Risc shrugged off Chisame's success and lifted her bow again. Another dull thud signaled her arrow's success in finding the target.

"What happens if you tie?" Negi asked, intrigued by this unorthodox battle of wills.

"We won't!" they glared at him.

"R-Right…"

Another dull thud announced Chisame's last, on-target shot.

"Your turn," Chisame told Risc. "You'd better not tie this game; I don't plan on wasting my time here all night."

"Oh? But I'd rather not lose," Risc smiled as she took several steps back. "How about this? If I make it from all the way back here and hit the center with this shot, you admit defeat."

"Go for it," Chisame shrugged. "There's no way you'll hit the center from that distance."

"And that's where you're wrong," Risc smirked despite the fact that she was standing next to the refrigerator of the small kitchen tucked into a corner of building.

"That's a little overdoing it," Chisame frowned.

"As I said," Risc stated as she pulled back the arrow, "I'm playing by my own rules."

A low whistle signaled the arrow's blurring path as it sped overhead. "Tch," was Risc's reaction when it landed a centimeter off to the right of the center. "Looks like you win, Hasegawa-sempai."

"Right, and now we need to go," Negi jumped up and grabbed Chisame's hand.

"Hey, what are you doing?" she cried out.

"I'm sorry Risc-san, but we have something we need to do!" Negi called back to the girl.

As they disappeared into the distance, Risc distinctly heard Chisame yell, "Don't drag me into your stupid tea time! One less vampire is all I need to know!"

"But you only know one vampire."

"That's exactly my point!"

"Looks like you have an interesting group of classmates," a voice commented in the now empty club room.

Risc answered without turning around. "Guess so," she muttered as she picked something off the floor. She smiled and gave it a lick before tossing it behind her.

"That boy's blood sure is sweet," Risc commented to the cloaked figure sitting on the wall of the archery range.

"Agreed," the figure told her as it licked the blood from the arrow. "It's sweeter than honey. We made the right choice, dear sister."

"So… when can you free me from my chains?"

"You know the answer," the figure told her and faded away leaving only a whisper. "Before the moon disappears from the night skies, dear sister

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**- To be Continued…**

**Author's Note: **And Chapter 8 draws to a close. I hope you enjoyed it and that you will bear with the lack of information and weird order of events. Thanks for understanding. Also, for those of you worrying about the weird Konoka and Asuna bitterness, it will be explained in the next chapter. I couldn't find a good place to fit it in this chapter.

Reviews are welcome, suggestions considered, flames ignored, and unreasonable demands for anything above my rating... hated and scorned, tossed into the fire to burn, **and that would still be too good for it.**


	9. The Night’s Revelations

**Disclaimer:** Negima! is not owned by anyone on unless said person is Ken Akamatsu in disguise… which translates to mean **ownership is not mine.** But… all OCs created by my words, taken from my ideas, and put onto paper are mine.

**Notes: **First of all, I would like to thank all my readers for waiting patiently. I was in Hong Kong for a moment without much motivation to write and when I came back, I found myself in a bit of a writer's block. Now, it is all cleared up though so please enjoy this new chapter. And ah, it seems the poll, for all intents and purposes, failed. Oh well, back to the norm it is for me then.

"Speech."

'_Thoughts.'_

"**Spells."**

**Termination of Spirit: Contract's Initiation**

**Chapter Nine: The Night's Revelations**

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"Oho, you're back, boya. It seems you caught our little idol in record time."

"I wouldn't say caught…" Negi began but Chisame cut him off.

"Better alive than dead," she glared at Eva as her classmates welcomed her to the den of evil.

Negi chuckled uncomfortably. "Now, now…" he interrupted, ever the peacemaker.

His efforts proved to be of no avail when, with a negligent wave of her hand, the master of the house ignored her teacher and said, "Dead vermin are no better than those alive." The condescending tilt of her head only added to the sagely tone of the speech.

"Eva-san…" Negi sighed, shaking his head.

But to the vampire's disgust, instead of replying to the insult, Chisame shrugged off the challenge and cut straight to the point. "So what's so important that you have to send the brat here to drag us all together?"

"He didn't drag all of us together," Haruna whispered with a giggle. Chisame's eye twitched.

Sighing dramatically, the vampire glanced over her audience with half-lidded eyes. "About these dreams," she began almost sleepily. "I would like to know if any side effects occur."

As her gaze swept over them, a shivering sensation pierced each person as Eva's sharp blue eyes stabbed through them, one by one, before finally coming to rest on…

"Why are you looking at me?" Asuna growled uncomfortably under the scrutinizing stare.

"Well," Eva smirked, "you're the only one that is dead… at least, in the dream."

"And that's where you're wrong!" Asuna countered in a heartbeat, crossing her arms. "You see," she told them sagely, "I didn't die. You didn't see me die, right?"

"Assuming no one else was around…" Eva ventured but she trailed off soundlessly when Asuna shot up off the ground and exclaimed, "Assumptions shouldn't be trusted!"

Only the soft chimes of the redhead's bells filled the emptiness of the silence that followed. Finally realizaing the fact that all eyes were upon her, Asuna blushed and quickly took her seat, staring down at the floor, completely aware of the confused glances sent her way.

Elbow on the armchair, head resting against her palm, the nosferatu studied the girl appraisingly before she let her eyes drift close. "Lower your voice, there's no need for such a big reaction. It was only a dream," she said softly.

"Only a dream where I die," the girl responded just as quietly, softly, but almost half-heartedly. Her eyes were wide when she added in a whisper, "I don't want to die…"

"But you're still alive, Asuna-san," Setsuna hesitantly pointed out, looking at her with more than just slight concern. Setsuna put a comforting hand on Asuna's shoulder but it slipped off when Asuna edged away from the touch. In worry, the swordsman looked to Negi for help.

Understanding the silent plea, the boy ventured, "Are you all right, Asuna-san?" At the quick nod that followed, he shrugged at Setsuna. Unconvinced, he tried again meeting the same wordless response.

"She's probably just afraid the dream will come true, scared of what might be and completely ignorant of how the future works," Konoka remarked disparagingly.

"Konoka-san!" Nodoka gasped. "How could you say that? No one knows how the future works!"

"But she's right," Yue interjected. "'Because no one knows how the future works, you can't be sure what you think will happen actually will. There are an infinite number of possibilities that can be derived from a single action. In fact, what I'm saying now has probably fractured the possible future of just a moment ago into a million tiny pieces.' It was something my grandfather used to say…"

"But what if it does come true?" Asuna demanded. "What if it does come true? What then?"

"You simple-minded idiot!" Eva snapped. "I said there was a chance that these are predicting dreams. I didn't say it was a high chance!"

Completely lapsing out of her depressed silence, Asuna shouted, "But you said the chances had increased!"

"Children, children, what did we learn yesterday?" Eva shook her head in disappointment. "What do the words semi-prescient mean to you, good-for-nothing fool?"

Hesitation didn't take more than a few seconds before Asuna repeated, "You said the chances had increased!"

As if Asuna was a twig before Eva, the vampire crushed her with a yell, "The only change is from a one in a billion chance to a one in a million chance!" She glared, threatening the girl to reply. Asuna looked down.

In the accompanying silence, Negi whispered, "That's actually a big difference."

Balefully, Eva turned her eyes on him. "You're not helping."

To the rest of her silent audience, Eva said, "But that's not the main thing I wanted to address today. This might be quite a leap of subjects for your slow wits, but have you all heard of the mysterious happenings on campus?"

"You mean, the ghost sightings, mysterious sounds, disappearing people (though I heard they've all been found), and the fire in the abandoned school building?" Yue piped up.

"Thank you for the vivid description," Eva muttered, narrowed eyes glaring at Yue.

"And the journalists who snuck into the school are prowling around campus, right?" Haruna added.

Eva shook her head. "Right and wrong, Ms. Gossip-Master," she corrected condescendingly. "It seems that that nuisance has been taken care of already."

"What do you mean?" Negi asked though he knew what came next wouldn't make them happy at all.

"The journalists who snuck in have been found… a little worse for wear you might say."

Negi groaned.

Asuna took that chance to ask, "What happened to them?"

"And misfortune brings her out of her shell," Eva commented cynically before she answered the question. "Some went insane, a few are possessed by unending hallucinations, the rest are frozen in terror, and all need therapy."

As Negi smacked his head with the palm of a hand, the vampire intertwined her hands, put them on her lap, and stared venomously at the youths sitting in her living room. "So, has anything strange happened recently?" she asked with an innocent smile that no one trusted for a second. It was obvious she was not interested in their lives any more than she was interested in garlic and onion soup.

Negi squirmed in his seat, making him the perfect target for Eva's merciless stare. As expected, he soon gave in.

"Well, when Chisame-san and I were coming back…" Negi started.

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"Hurry up, Chiu-san!"

"Stop calling me that! What if someone hears you?"

"Don't worry, Chiu-san! This far into the woods, there's no one around, and even if somebody did see you, they wouldn't be able to see the similarities anyways!"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Chisame growled dangerously. "Are you saying that I don't look like myself at all?"

"Ah, Captain Tatsumiya!" Negi pointed to the right.

Chisame ran after him, yelling, "Don't change the subject!"

"Negi-sensei?"

"Good evening, Captain Tatsumiya," Negi greeted.

Chisame stood dumbfounded behind him. "Hmmph, he wasn't lying after all," she muttered. "This kid and luck…"

Mana gave him a blank stare. "How many times have I told you that just plain Mana is fine?"

"Ehehehe," Negi chuckled, rubbing his head sheepishly.

"Don't bother with his stubbornness," Chisame growled, stepping out of the forest. Without any hesitation, she reached up and whacking the back of Negi's head with the palm of her hand.

Negi's eyes filled with unshed tears as he cried, "That hurt, Chiu-"

Before he could finish the sentence, Chisame had already covered his mouth with a hand, effectively silencing him as she deftly changed the subject. "So, ehe… what brings you to the wilderness?" she asked Mana.

The shrine maiden arched an eyebrow but decided not to question further. Instead, she plainly stated, "An intruder."

"An intruder?" Negi inquired, struggling free from Chisame's grasp.

"Oh great…" Chisame frowned, "More strangeness."

"That's an interesting opinion, coming from one of Negi-sensei's partners."

"No one said I enjoyed it," Chisame snarled, jabbing Negi's face with a finger.

Speaking around the pain, Negi interrupted, saying, "About the intruder…?"

"A cloaked child with an affinity for dark magic attacked me after I failed to hit him with a tranquilizer dart. I overpowered him but he got away before I could capture him." Negi blinked at the Mana's sudden torrent of words. If he was not mistaken, her words sounded rather like a report.

"Dark magic you said?" Negi pondered. "Not many people use dark magic these days, much less a child. Did you spot anything strange about the, uh… Were there any distinguishing traits you caught that might help locate this person?"

Mana shook her head. "None that I could see," she told him. "The cloak covered his face and body. For all we know, he could be female, but let's stick with 'he' for conversation purposes," she smirked.

"I see…" Negi sighed. "Do you know where the intruder is?"

Mana simply shook her head once again.

"Why does it matter where this person went?" Chisame interjected, waving her hand as she added, "It's not that big of a deal, right? If he shows up again, you'll just beat him down with those crazy magic spells or whatever you call them."

"'Magic spells' seems to be a good summary," Negi grinned. "But catching a mage isn't as simple as you make it sound."

"You caught three at once, didn't you? Won't one just be a walk in the park?"

"I appreciate your belief in my skills, but those three were just novices. To have been able to get away from Captain Tatsumiya, this person must be on par, if not stronger than me."

"So you're saying you don't think you could get away from me in a fight?" Mana asked with an amused grin. "You need to work on increasing your self-esteem, Negi-sensei."

"Or to stop hiding behind humility," Chisame agreed.

Negi rubbed his head and looked, down a light blush heating up his cheeks. "Nothing's wrong with humility or my self-esteem," he murmured.

The shrine maiden shared a grin with Chisame before saying, "Well, watch your back out there, Negi-sensei, Chiu-san." And with a wink, she was gone.

"You've got it all wrong!" Chisame screamed after her shadow, aghast.

Her mood didn't get any brighter when Negi nudged her shoulder slyly, "There's nothing wrong with one more person in on the secret, Chiu-san!"

"You shut up! Take some responsibility!"

"Ah, someone help! Chiu-san's gone mad!"

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"I still have the bruise," Negi finished, rubbing his shoulder.

"You didn't have to add in all those details!" Chisame groaned, hiding her face.

"Embarrassed, Chiu-san?" Haruna jabbed with a sly grin.

"This doesn't concern you," Chisame growled from behind her hand.

"Now, now children, mind the mood," Eva sighed. "The fact that our resident bounty hunter couldn't win outright suggests that this… child of ours isn't quite as helpless as it may seem. We might have a second prodigy on campus," she joked. When no one laughed, she shrugged and said, "It seems things have gotten a bit more serious."

"Master?"

With the smile of a withheld secret, Eva deftly ignored him, saying, "Anyone else with tales to share? We have all night and I for one don't need to sleep."

"Well…" Nodoka and Yue spoke up in unison, both hiding sheepish yawns.

"Looks like we have story number two," Eva grinned.

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"Nodoka," Yue nudged her fellow librarian. Yue narrowed her eyes when the bibliomaniac tottered on her feet and tipped over. Still, Nodoka's gaze never left the book in her hand as she steadied herself with the other, gripping the edge of the desk. Enraptured by the book, she continued to ignore her friend until the book snapped shut on her fingers.

"Ahh!" Yue!" she exclaimed in a mixture of pain, surprise, and outrage, turning to meet another of Yue's trademark deadpans. Though Yue showed no expression as she calmly sipped a carton of juice, Nodoka could have sworn that Yue's right eye twitched. Subdued by that single warning, Nodoka laughed weakly and said, "I was doing it again, right?"

Yue nodded and then flicked Nodoka's forehead with her free hand.

"Ouch! What was that for?" the bookworm exclaimed, sulkily nursing both her head and her fingers.

"Retribution," Yue answered vaguely, setting aside the stack of books she had been putting away. With a stretch, she said, "I'm going to get another book to read. I'll be back soon."

"Down in the dungeons?" Nodoka asked warily, rubbing her head.

"Of course, that's where the magical books are," Yue replied matter-of-factly. "The real ones, at least," she amended before she left her desk and walked away.

"The second elevator is stuck down on level fifty-six!" Nodoka called after her. "Careful of the monsters!" she added after Yue's wave of acknowledgement.

"Don't worry so much, Nodoka. I'll be alright as long as I have this," Yue said, holding up her wand. Then, she stepped into the iron box and disappeared from sight.

-

It was dark down on level eighty-seven section B. Already prepared for the tranquil darkness, Yue turned on the head lamp of the Library Exploration Club's trademark hardhat. The beam of light that pierced the black veil revealed a twisted labyrinth made of row after row of immense bookcases. Huge, tall, and carrying a vast and diverse amount of knowledge, Yue was well aware as she set out into the maze that the tomes were jealously guarded by various traps of increasingly devious nature.

Stopping at the edge of one such trap – a large, circular chasm – Yue unhooked a length of rope from her pack and rappelled down a bookcase with the grace and ease that even a well-established mountain climber would envy. As she plummeted into increasingly ominous darkness, Yue remained wary of anything that might prove to be a threat.

But though her eyes were vigorously scanning the various book titles that she passed in her descent, most of her attention was focused on listening for anything that might serve as warning of the various dangers that existed this far underground. Furthermore, her free hand was tucked into the pocket that held her wand, mind ready to yell out an incantation at any moment.

Suddenly, she stopped her descent. Something had stirred in the almost tangible darkness underneath her. Yue hissed softly when she heard it again; something was down there with her, and there was no one around to help.

Cautiously, she pulled out her wand and held it pointed downwards. As if sensing her movement, whatever was under her came closer. With ears perked, Yue peered down into the darkness.

Just as an outline became visible to Yue's eyes, she finally realized what the sound was… with a barely concealed growl. Screeching filled the air, echoing as it ricocheted off the curved chasm walls. A pair of large wings blasted out of the concealing darkness, propelling what appeared to be winged arrow on a collision course with Yue.

It was clear to Yue what would happen if she hit it head on, so at the last second, she pushed herself to the right. The mess of feathers crashed into the bookcase as Yue swung around behind it.

"**Sagitta Magica, Una Lucis!"**

The arrow of light struck the creature dead center, throwing it further into the rubble it had made in its crash. Yue didn't wait for the monster to recover, pressing the switch that would pull her straight up to the safety of the elevator.

As she rose, she plucked a random book out of the numerous tomes lining the shelves and held it close until she reached the top. Then, she threw caution to the winds and raced towards the safety of the elevator.

Yue was breathing heavily by the time she stepped into the iron box, but just as the door closed, she spotted something watching her from the darkness. A pair of eyes…

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Yue shuddered in the silence. There seemed to be a lot of wordless pauses that day, Negi observed in the contemplative silence that followed.

"There's trouble brewing, that's for sure," said the only one unaffected by the solemnity of the situation

"Oh lighten up!" Asuna scolded the vampire. "Why do you have to be so concerned?"

"Only the foolish stay stuck in the present," Eva replied her loftily. "Though you were stuck in the future just a few minutes ago," she corrected herself.

"What do you mean by that?" Asuna growled, getting to her feet.

"Do you really have to ask?" Konoka shook her head condescendingly. "The meaning is clear isn't it?"

Asuna immediately wheeled to face the innocently grinning girl. "That's it! You're sleeping outside tonight!"

"And who gave you the right to throw me out?" Konoka demanded, rising to her feet as well to stare Asuna straight in the face. Negi felt the tension catch fire as the friction rubbed it raw.

"If you haven't noticed, I'm the only one who actually works and pays for my rent. I don't freeload off my family's mountain of treasure."

"I…" Konoka started in response, but Asuna continued right over her.

"And if you haven't noticed this as well, I was one of those who actually had to fight that demented boy, Fay, or whatever his name was, when you were tied to the altar!"

"And how many times has my magic saved you from…"

"How many times has my blade saved us from danger?" Asuna cut her off.

"Asuna! Just what is your problem?" Konoka cried out in frustration

"What's my problem? You're the one who started it!"

And then, they were at each other's necks and throats.

"Ojou-sama!" Setsuna exclaimed keeping one hand steady on Konoka's shoulder as her other pinned the girl's wrists together. "Forgive me, but you're acting rashly!"

It took the combined effort of Negi, Haruna, Nodoka, and half-hearted help from Chisame and Yue to hold Konoka's raging opponent back. Asuna's face gleamed red with rage as she shouted, "Let me go! Mage or not, heir to the throne or not, I'm going to teach you a lesson!"

"Master…?" Chachamaru inquired tentatively.

"Let them be," Eva reassured the robot. "This is interesting."

Her fun was not to last, however, as once the makeshift crew managed to get the girls to opposite sides of the room, Asuna and Konoka were able to calm down and give mumbled apologies, much to Eva's distaste.

Before they could start another argument over the sincerity of their apologies however, Negi quickly intervened, stepping between the redhead and the brunet. "It's dark already," he pointed out as he headed for the door. "We'd better get going."

"Hold it!" The imperious order instantly froze Negi, who turned, with a sigh, to face Eva.

"Yes, master?"

"You don't leave until I dismiss you, bumbling idiots, and you are not dismissed yet."

"What do you want?" Chisame snapped tiredly. "I want to go to bed. It's already nearing midnight."

"But wouldn't the dreams just wake us up again?"

Negi turned to Nodoka, unsure whether he had heard her right. She was looking down at the ground however, so his unspoken question remained unanswered.

"There's one more thing I need to do," Eva smirked, slowly getting up from her chair.

"And what would that be…?" Asuna inquired nervously. By the apprehensive glances the others shot around, it was clear they were also convinced that no one was going to be happy with the answer.

"Why are you all so scared?" Eva taunted incredulously. "I'll be gentle trust me. Now if you would take…"

"Off our clothes?" Haruna whistled. "Wow, I didn't know you had it in you, Eva-chan."

"Wh-What?" the vampire spluttered, completely taken aback. "I meant your pactio cards you stupid harlot, take out your cards!"

"Aww, that's mean Eva-chan. I thought you said you'd be gentle with us!" Haruna pouted, sending the Dark Evangel into a fit of unintelligible rage.

With the last of her control, Eva ordered darkly, "Take out your cards, now!"

Negi could only shudder; her bloodlust had become a tangible thing. His partners' responses weren't all that much of a surprise.

"Thank you all for being so considerate," the vampire sneered, collecting the seven cards with a single swipe, meeting resistance that couldn't even stop a baby. Then, without warning, she threw them edge first at their owners, but even before they could cry out in surprise, the cards completely stopped, quivering in the air before their eyes, near enough to make them flinch.

"Wha?" was all someone could choke out before Eva ordered with a lazy grin, "Take a good look at your cards, children and look to your partner for the source of your misfortune."

"Source of our misfortune?" Setsuna repeated uncomfortably. She undoubtedly didn't like the sound of that, and neither did Negi.

"There's nothing different about it…" Nodoka sighed, peering at her picture.

As the others joined her in searching, Asuna spotted Konoka rubbing her card with the edge of a sleeve. Curiosity overwhelmed her irrational distaste for her best friend, so she asked, "What are you doing, Konoka?"

"The card is dirty and the black spots won't come off," Konoka replied absentmindedly, dutifully scrubbing at her card with a petulant pout.

"Black spots?" Asuna muttered, just loud enough for Haruna overhear.

"Black spots? Oh, mine has some too," the artist told them.

"Now that you mention it…"

As his partners found more and more of the strange blemishes on their cards, Negi asked his master, "Do all of them have those black spots?"

"Oh yes," Eva answered simply. Then, looking out the window, she added, "Misfortune haunts those who have power. Don't forget that, Negi."

"Master?"

Eva clapped suddenly, drawing the others' attentions and neatly thrusting his question aside. "Now, you're probably wondering why your lovely white cards now have drops of dried blood on them right?"

"Dried blood?" Nodoka gasped in horror, looking as if she might drop her card at any moment.

"Give the simple-minded a joke and they take it as a curse," Eva shook her head sadly. In a louder voice, she said, "No, dimwit, it is not blood! It's a taint!"

Chisame crossed her arms. "A taint? I don't like the sound of that, but what does it mean? What is it?"

With a slightly blank stare, Eva turned slightly to face Negi, her eyes locking the boy's in place, holding them rigidly still as she said, "It's the taint that has spread from the source of omens, spreading its tendrils in an outward wave of perishing darkness…" Her voice was so mesmerizing that Negi found he could not shift his gaze away. But as he stared into the vampire's liquid blue orbs, he realized for the first time how deep and bottomless they were. He was spell bound; he could not look away.

"Eva-san, are you all right?" Negi finally managed to say, though his voice came out in a choked whisper.

"Master?" Chachamaru also spoke up, but said nothing more, retaining her silence once again.

Finally breaking off her hypnotic stare, Eva folded her arms. "Hmm? Is something the matter?" she said. Though the spell was broken and her eyes had returned to their original quality – as normal as it could be for a creature of the night – Negi found his gaze trailing hers, unconsciously following the path of her sight as she sent another series of chills around the room. Negi shook his head violently, hoping to dispel the remnants of the hypnotic spell that had been put on him… but strangely, it didn't seem to help.

"Now then, as there's no unfinished business left, why don't we call it a day? Boya, you better tell the time traveler to take those stones off your hand soon or there might not be much left of you in a couple of weeks."

"Not much left of me…?" Negi gulped.

"You're joking right?" Asuna growled over him. "Or you're lying. You don't tell the truth, offense intended."

Eva hid a little smirk behind spread fingers as she said, "Oh, a little truth can't hurt me."

Quickly, Negi denied, "But Chao-san said it was…"

"Safe?" finished Eva, so easily that Negi couldn't help but wonder if she had known what he would say before he could even think the words. She rose, though the disappointment etched on her face belied the gracefulness of her motion. "When will you learn that trust has to be earned?" she asked.

"But Eva-san!"

"That's master for the last time, apprentice!" Eva snapped, and the threat in her tone was as obvious as the light of day.

Negi caved in immediately. "Yes, master," he sighed in resignation. "I'll talk to Chao-san tomorrow morning…"

"Good," Eva hissed slowly. Then, sitting back down, she added, "Now, it's already quite late and your master wants some peace and quiet."

Throwing up her hands, Asuna yelled, "Then go to sleep! It's past your bedtime anyways!"

"That's it. Chachamaru, throw them out! It's an order," she hissed.

"Yes, master," the android complied without as much as a single word. Instead, the words she had not deigned to say came, predictably, from her classmates. But before they could get well into their complaints, Negi stood up.

"Don't bother yourself Chachamaru-san, I know a dismissal when I hear one," he said, ending the clamor almost at once. "We'll let ourselves out. See you tomorrow afternoon, Eva-san."

"Hmmph," Eva replied noncommittally as Negi headed for the door. Following his lead, the others reluctantly got up and trailed after him, and Konoka was by his side.

With a cheerful grin, she said, in a conspiratorial tone, "It's already so late; we better get back as quick as we can. Lucky you, Negi-chan, you can skip the bath tonight."

Now, the boy wasn't entirely sure if her sudden appearance next to him was coincidence or not, but he did know that she had completely caught him off guard. "W-What? Really?" he stammered.

"Why are you so surprised?" Konoka grinned. "There's no time for it, after all," she told him matter-of-factly, but when Negi started fidgeting with his fingers, she gave him a suspicious glance.

Eloquently shrugging, Negi quickened his pace but the girl instantly caught up with him. "There's a time for everything," he replied vaguely when he realized there was no escaping her sleuthing. Somewhat sheepishly, he added, "There's no rush… but it's not like I want a bath."

Before Konoka could inquire further, someone else had already taken her question. "What do you mean by 'there's no rush?'" Setsuna asked, completely unabashed by her eavesdropping.

"Heck, you're the teacher and you don't even know why students need to go to sleep early to be able wake up early?" her fellow eavesdropper demanded.

Negi sighed. "Yes Asuna-san, I do know, but…"

Not to be outdone by her friends, Konoka broke in with an observation. "You said, 'see you in the afternoon' to Evangeline-san. What did you mean by that?"

To their confusion, Negi blinked in surprise and asked, "Didn't you know?" When they looked at each other and came up with a blank, he said, "There's no class tomorrow morning."

"What?" the trio exclaimed in unison. "Why?"

"As much as I enjoy the suspense and mystery involved in all this, will you get out of my living room, shut the door behind you, and be quiet for one second of your lives?" Eva shouted. To herself, she muttered, "I swear! If I hadn't met the Crimson Wing you people would be at the top of my list of the most talkative bunch I'd ever met in my life!"

"Is that a complement?" Haruna asked cheekily.

"No."

Finding that everyone else was now also listening in and that all faces were turned towards him, Negi continued. "Well, the Dean has a meeting tomorrow morning to discuss with the officials how to go about bringing an end to the strangeness that's been plaguing the campus."

When they continued to stare at him, he added, "Uh… that's all?"

"_Is there something on my face?" _he thought, unconsciously, he lifted a hand.

Slowly, understanding dawned on their faces. "Then that means…" Nodoka started.

"We can go party tonight!" Asuna shouted in glee, completely breaking the tension that had plagued them all night long.

Catching the mood, Haruna joined in, adding, "Until the sun is high in the sky!"

"With no sleep!" Asuna slapped her fellow enthusiast's back.

In unison, the two turned to check their fellow friends' reactions.

Negi chuckled weakly.

Chisame groaned.

Eva sighed.

Yue sipped her juice.

Nodoka forced back a smile.

Konoka gave a slightly energetic cheer.

Setsuna adamantly kept her mouth shut.

Chachamaru took it all in and said nothing.

As if they hadn't just proved their lack of interest in the upcoming adventure, Asuna asked, "So, how does Karaoke sound?" But she didn't just ask, she asked energetically!

A little frightened by the energy that radiated off her friend, Yue excused herself deftly. "No thanks," she told her, "I'll go back to the dorms and read a book."

"Yeah… I'm not good at staying up so late," Nodoka agreed with a nod.

Unfortunately, the co-leader of the expedition wasn't going to let them off that easily. "What are you talking about? Don't you want some quality time with a certain someone?" Haruna slapped their backs heartily, much to Negi's chagrin.

Despite the heat building in her cheeks, Yue monotonously answered, "Spending the night out with such a large group is anything but quality time, Paru."

Negi made a cutting motion at Haruna but she either didn't take the hint or just plain ignored him. So she said, "Well, time is time, different only in how you use it, but you never know what will happen tomorrow!"

"I'd debate that point but I'd rather not waste my time with stubborn fools like you lot," Eva smirked from her chair. The lazy grin on she flashed him gave Negi the impression that she would endure their presence a little longer if only because they entertained her, however slightly.

When Yue didn't answer and Nodoka adamantly hid her blush, she shook them both, wheedling, "Come on! Don't be like this you two!" Their twin sighs brought a smile to Haruna's face; she had won again.

Half-heartedly tossing her finished carton of juice at Haruna's face, she said, "All right, all right, Paru, I'll go…"

"If Yue is going, then I'm going too," Nodoka announced.

"Two have been converted to the cause!" the artist cheered. Her gaze immediately shifted away, searching for her next victim.

"Yeah, well count me out!" Chisame growled, shrugging off Haruna's intent stare as if it was mist as she headed for the door.

"What are you talking about, Chiu-sama?"

Negi winced to himself as Chisame stopped in her tracks, frozen stock still. She spun immediately around and glared heatedly at her captor.

"What's the matter, Chiu-sama? Afraid your secret will be leaked?" Haruna smiled. Her wicked grin closely resembled that of a spider which had just caught her meal in its web.

"Grr, this is blackmail!"

"Well said! Now let's go!" Haruna urged with a childish pout.

"There's no stopping Haruna-san, is there?" Setsuna smiled as the stare that could control anyone it landed on focused itself on her. The swordsman got up smoothly, swinging her wrapped blade over her back as she said, "Even if you weren't going to force me to go, I would have gone anyways. Where Ojou-sama goes, I go."

"That's so sweet," Eva silkily said. "Now could you refer me to a dentist that operates on vampires?"

"Call me any time; I'd give you my card if I had one," Setsuna answered with a smirk, turning her back to the mage as she followed her princess out the door.

"Onward march!" Asuna exclaimed heroically as she took the front-most position of what could never be called a formation.

Her leadership was not to be, as Konoka skipped past the self-appointed leader of their foray into the city. "Let's go, A-su-na!" she sang, emphasizing each syllable of the redhead's name.

"Why does that sound disturbing coming from you?" Asuna barked as the princess twirled around in the moonlight.

"I don't know? You're a very disturbed person?" Konoka shot back with a high, trilling laugh.

"Oh? If you want a fight then you're on!"

Negi shook his head. Asuna and Konoka were fighting again, but he was quite sure this break in their friendship would be repaired soon enough. Apparently, so did Setsuna, who stood beside him watching as the two girls chased each other around the trees like fairies playing under enchanted moonlight.

"Come on, let's go!" Haruna urged as she watched Yue and Nodoka put on their shoes. "Eva-san!" she pouted when her friends wouldn't hurry up.

"Yeah, yeah, have fun little kids," Eva dismissed her, leaning back in her chair casually. "I'm not a very good motivator in case you didn't notice; I kill and torture more than I persuade."

"That's not what I meant!" Haruna said, striding back into the living room. "You're coming with us!"

"What?" Eva jumped up immediately as Haruna's hand tightened around her wrist. "Chachamaru!" she shouted as she was dragged bodily towards the night. "Deal with the infidel!"

"Yes master," the android acknowledged. "Put on your shoes, and here is your cloak. You need to keep warm in order not to catch a cold."

It took a few seconds before Eva could mourn and wail, "Oh betrayal! My own servant is betraying me! What has this world come to?"

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"What has this world come to that you'd be doing such a thing?" she asked, leaning against the large trunk of a tree, arms crossed.

"A little bit of music can't hurt me, Seri…" he sighed, lying on a thick branch, completely balanced as he twirled a black object in his fingers.

"But you'll draw attention to yourself!" the girl pointed out.

In the shadows, the boy's grin was hidden as he nonchalantly told her, "No worries; I've never let her see me once."

"What? You let someone see you? How foolish can you be?" she exclaimed, mockingly, jestingly, but with an edge that showed she meant what she said.

"Relax, she's only a little girl," he shook his head, sending a few leaves drifting down to the grass floor. "Besides, didn't I say she's never been able to see me? All she does it sit on that stump over there and listen to my flute. I've never said a word and I always make sure she's gone before I am. There's no harm in it and I rather like how she thanks me for playing."

"She must think you're a spirit or something," she said with a sigh.

Flipping onto his stomach, the boy peered down and asked, "Is that a smile I see, Seri-chan?"

Even in the dark shadows, he could see her blush as she turned her face away from the moonlight and said, "Shut up, I don't appreciate your teasing."

"But the moon is just so bright tonight and the air is so fresh!" he announced to the world, rolling back onto his back. "I don't know how An-chan can stay locked up in the dark for so long!"

"Don't change the subject, brother…" the girl scolded.

"Yes, yes, I know," he answered without a hint of resignation. "I'll be more careful, but hardly anyone comes when I play. She's the only one who takes this route at that time of day."

Once again, she sighed. "I really wish you would just wait till midnight to take your evening strolls but I know you'll ignore me anyways and An is so unreliable when he's stuck in one of his books that it's sickening. How I wish I could just go home."

"It'll be soon, Seri, it'll be soon…"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**- To be Continued…**

**Author's Note: **Actually, I decided NOT to clear up Asuna's and Konoka's disagreement for each other. The mystery is what makes it fun, right? And the plot demands it too! Thank you for waiting so patiently for my update.

Reviews are welcome, suggestions considered, flames ignored, and unreasonable demands for anything above my rating... hated and scorned, tossed into the fire to burn, **and that would still be too good for it.**


	10. Countdown

**Author Notes: **Ahem. To all of my readers, please cease and desist. It is my unfortunate and displeasing responsibility to warn you of the dangers that accompany your foray into further reading this story. If you continue to do so, you will find a malice filled legion of hate adorned soldiers taking control of your body from within so that you may do unto me the most inexpressible forms of torture such that even the mention should send shivers up your spines… or whatever else it is you might have in their stead. The ending of this story will be so inconclusive, so anticlimactic, so horrible and so sudden that you will be forced to take my hands and break off all my fingers before doing the same with my neck. No, this horrid pessimism does not mean that Termination of Spirit: Contract's Initiation (a horrid title to be sure) will end this chapter. Instead, it will continue to languish on for two or three more depending on how much more junk will spread from my fingertips. No, this horrid pessimism does not mean that you'll be getting the end any sooner than I will. Considering that I have not written the end, though I know it will be of a bloodlust instigating quality, which is not in a good way, by the way, no one will be getting the ending, much less reading it, anytime soon.

On a lighter note, I've taken a card from the general idea of what horrid literature actually is and written a cliché into this chapter. See if you can spot it.

Okay, seriously now. Thank you for reading my work, undeserving though it is. I appreciate the support from my reviewers and anonymous readers. None of this, worthless thought it may be, could be done without the motivation I get from your praises – or criticisms, or hate, or neutral comments. This will be the last author note till the end. Good bye until we meet again, in this story (hopefully not, for both your sake and mine) or till the next adventure I pen and author.

-Eternal Longing

**Notes:**

"Speech."

Thoughts

"**Spells."**

**Termination of Spirit: Contract's Initiation**

**Chapter Ten: Countdown**

--

Risc sat alone at a table outside an ice cream parlor, drinking a clear liquid that the menu had labeled as soda, but in reality, tasted like a mix of water from the tap and water from the closest sewage pipe at hand.

Though the night was cold, she seemed not to notice the wind picking at her thin white jacket. She wore only a red, short-sleeved blouse underneath with a pair of gray pants that seemed just a tad too short for her.

"Oh, how I wish I could have some ice-cream instead of drinking this worthless stuff," she muttered, fingering her empty wallet. She stared at the dreadful drink in front of her with a disgusted frown. It looked like a poisonous snake, coiled and ready to spring, but in truth, it had already struck. With a sigh, she poked her wallet again.

"Curse this place and its overpriced stuff," she complained to herself. "Ice cream…"

She could almost see it: a misty white substance in an almost completely transparent silver-blue glass. The vivid image filled her mind so completely she could see nothing else, and as the girl stared blankly in front of her, the image started becoming clearer and sharper, more real by the second. So, when a thud reached her ears, she filed it as another piece of her daydream. But the image alone was not enough for her, it needed more realism. So Risc imagined what the waitress would say.

"Here's your vanilla ice-cream."

Risc smiled faintly and couldn't help but reply with, "Thanks..." It all seemed so real.

She touched the vision with a hand and was shocked to her senses with its numbing cold. Looking up, she stared at the waitress, who stared back with a questioning frown.

Then Risc exploded in the form of words. "Wait a minute!" she exclaimed to the waitress's fright. With one finger pointing at the offending object, she protested, "I didn't order this!"

Rather to Risc's annoyance, the waitress giggled and explained, "Of course you didn't, silly. That's from the gentleman over there who sends his greetings." The waitress pointed to a young man lounging against the store's glass display windows and, in an insinuating whisper, added, "I didn't know people still did this these days."

Risc grinned back, in a way that was not even remotely close to complementary, and said, "Then you're either an ignorant fool or you've never gone outside of the country before, in which case, you're just pitifully deprived." But the waitress didn't hear her; she was already walking away, out of earshot. It didn't matter to Risc that she didn't hear her scathing remark. That was the point.

Accepting for reality as it was, she smirked at the triumph and almost lazily spooned a morsel of the sweet and cold delight into her mouth as a reward. It was all she could do to keep from squealing in delight. Taking another bite, she sighed mournfully, "It's been too long."

"Yes, it has," a voice agreed to a backdrop of soft footsteps.

She sighed louder with regret – she knew who it was without having the need to look up and knowing who it was, she wasn't going to enjoy the ice cream nearly as much as she deserved.

"Fancy meeting you here Mr. Suave," she mocked around another mouthful of ice-cream. "I didn't think you'd ever leave that hidey-hole of yours."

"Good evening to you too, Risc-chan," he replied easily without bristling at her derision, but before he could say anything more, his acquaintance jabbed him in the stomach, hard.

"Didn't I tell you to stop calling me that?" the girl asked innocently around her spoon.

Through the pain, he choked out, "I knew I shouldn't have given you any sugar."

Enjoying her ice-cream too much to speak, Risc only raised an eyebrow.

Slowly, the youth straightened and, as he did so, smoothed out the part of his shirt where Risc's fist had made a small indent. A sudden gust of wind sent his dark black hair flailing wildly and he wrapped his jacket more tightly around him to shut out the night's fell wind.

Then, he asked, "Why do you always have to be so violent around me?" Despite the mirth she knew existed behind his carefully prepared expression of woe, he sounded almost sad.

Undeceived, Risc only smirked back.

He sighed raising his left eye – his right eye was covered by a patch – towards the heavens with a shrug. Then, he lowered his gaze, winked his good eye at her, and asked, "How goes your task? Is everything moving along as planned?"

"Not only is everything going along as planned," the girl pointed the spoon at him, "but things are going even better than I had expected. That boy's too trusting."

He grinned and teased, "Everyone's too trusting for you, Risc. It almost seems you'd rather be betrayed than be the betrayer."

"How cynical of you, but could a hardened heart ever trust someone who had once been its enemy?"

"A pointless point to be made," he told her whimsically, "but I'll pointedly yield to you in this point." Then, he cast a gaze around at the streets bursting with people and asked, "Where's your brother by the way?"

"He's not my brother," Risc dodged the question, frowning more at the question than at the questioner.

But her acquaintance wasn't about to let her off so easily however. Crossing her arms, he pouted, "Then why do you call him that?"

Continuing the game of thrust and parry, cat and mouse, she turned away with a disdainful sniff, giving him a meaningful sidelong glance as she said, "The feelings of a woman are incomprehensible to stubborn men like you."

"Risc," he frowned again, but this time, his eyes told her he was serious, and that seriousness made her shiver. Having no words to offer, she remained quiet, but like always, he out-waited her.

"It's… complicated, all right?" she finally answered.

Firmly, but gently, he demanded, "Where is he?"

"Hunting," Risc replied simply. "You can hear the music if you listen."

"You can stop with the vagueness, Serin, no one is going to overhear our conversation."

"Serin…" the girl's eyes narrowed. "Don't, use, that, name," she hissed, emphasizing each and every word. "Not here, not now, Andaer!"

"Fine then," he answered with cheerful grin but his lone eye was cold and hard, crystal-like. "But that goes for you as well, Ms. Risc."

A deadly silence hung between the two as they stared at each other, one looking down, the other looking up. One seated, the other standing, and between them flowed a wealth of emotions though not a word was spoken.

In the end, she was the first to look away.

"What about the Watcher?" Risc asked softly without sparing a glance in the other's direction.

"Stopped for the moment," he replied easily as if there was not a problem in the world. "I'm not quite as clumsy as you think me, sister."

Risc scoffed at that, but she was satisfied. "You're not my bother either," she said, settling back into the game of words. "But you have something for me, right?" she added, not quite hiding a sudden spike of anxiety from her voice.

To her evident unease, he gave her head a pat and rolled his eyes.

"Of course, why else would I leave that 'hidey-hole' of mine as you so put it? Here, I've disguised it well enough that no one should notice."

"Don't use my words against me," she muttered as he reached a hand into his jacket. It was one thing she had always hated about him.

Still, one didn't choose one's relations, and just like a brother and sister, though she denied this bond, she loved him despite the perks that could sometimes outweighe this simple love. Such thoughts were banished however when he handed her a long, black, and rectangular card that, in one quick motion, she took and slipped into her own pocket.

"Thanks," she muttered sullenly. "But note that I don't like being indebted to you anymore than you like sugar, though everyone knows you need it."

He laughed at that. "Everyone is limited to two people, and I'm not going to be one of them. It's no problem at all, Risc-chan."

Risc growled at the honorific as if she could dispel it with her irritation, but it was, of course no use. He had already left.

--

Excitement was a plague that night, and Negi took it all in with amusement.

In the lead, Asuna and Konoka were bickering again, a patient Setsuna mediating between the two. Ever the outgoing one, Haruna had dragged Chisame alongside Yue and Nodoka. The latter two watched with smiles as Chisame struggled to get away from the enthusiastic girl and failed miserably. Yet the noise was not all bad. For one, Negi could forget about all the heaviness recent events had pushed onto him. As an added bonus, their trek was not troubled by any wandering creatures as Negi was sure no animal would be anywhere close to them, much less willingly, especially with Eva in such a mood.

Beside him, Eva sulked. Occasionally, she would raise her head from the ground and glare menacingly at Haruna in front of her before dropping her gaze once again. In it all, she pointedly ignored both him and Chachamaru, who followed diligently.

Despite Eva's sulky silence beside him, the night felt perfect. Moonlight danced softly among the trees, the moon itself a radiant circle in the sky. A cool wind blew, and with it came the fresh scent of the woods. He wished he could share the feeling of peace with his master, but he didn't think she would take well to it. However, the tension she cast about like a poisonous touch was almost too much to bear. "Uh, Eva-san?" Negi spoke, half to start a conversation and half to fill up the silence in between them.

To his surprise, she replied. "Yes, boya?" She even deigned to turn to look him in the eye. "Is something the matter?"

Negi caught his breath. He didn't know what to say; he had never imagined she would answer. So he blurted out, "What would you do if you were free from your curse?"

Oh great, opened that can of worms, he berated himself, but to his surprise, Eva gave no sign of irritation.

"That's a strange question to ask," she commented. Flashing a grin at the sky, she shrugged and said, "I'd hunt down Nagi of course, what else?" Her wistful gaze lingered on the moon, crystalline eyes reflecting the orb's glow until their blue irises faded to white.

"Oh… is that all?" Negi smiled uneasily. "So, if you could, you'd just leave Mahora and go find my father?"

Eva slowed to a stop, forcing Negi to stop with her and Chachamaru to wait attentively behind.

After a moment's pause, the vampire glanced back at her partner, who acknowledged her master's wishes with a nod. Bowing to Negi, Chachamaru walked back to the cottage saying, "Good night, Negi-sensei."

As for the majority of the group, they went on without noticing the trio's absence. When their voices faded to a dull murmur, Eva turned back to her patiently waiting companion and asked, "If I didn't chase Nagi, what else would I do?"

"I don't know," Negi admitted after a second, "it was just a thought. But isn't there anything her you would miss?"

"You mean you?" Eva raised an eyebrow. Ignoring his spluttering response, she said, "No, there's nothing that would keep me here. I don't even have to stop and think to tell you that, boy. You, too, aren't important to me," she told him bluntly. "All you are is a stepping stone for me to reach Nagi, and in the meantime, entertainment, but I'd be lying if I say I'm not fond of you and your idiocy. You asked me if there is anything I'd miss. I say yes, but would that be enough to make me stay? No, not even close."

Negi was careful not to let the pain to show he forced a laugh and said, "Yeah, why would you stay?" It hurt to hear her say that he wasn't important, especially after all they had been through.

Eva crossed her arms. "Why the sudden interest in my freedom, apprentice? You wouldn't have found a counter-curse, would you?" she mocked, but Negi could almost believe her smile was a tad apologetic.

Almost, but not quite.

He was saved a response when Asuna chose to look back and found him far, far behind. "Oi, Negi-bozu! Hurry up! We're going to the city of lights!"

"All right, Asuna-san. I'm coming!" Negi yelled back. Then, turning to Eva, he said, "There's no one to stop you from going back to your cottage now. See you tomorrow?"

"I don't feel like going quite yet," his master disagreed.

"Are you sure, Eva-san? This isn't very like you…" he pointed out cautiously. "N-Not that I don't want you with us but..."

Placing a hand on Negi's shoulder, Eva shook her head with a smile that he could tell was full of pity. "Reserve your judgments, everyone does things differently, everyone has their own reasons. That's a life lesson, boya," she said. "But you're right, I'm too old to go romping around with you youngsters blowing out each others ears with your shrieks."

Negi could only blink in confusion.

She sighed, then fixed him with a piercing stare. "In the morning, before the sun rises," his master barked. "I expect you here without my having to send Chachamaru to fetch you like the dog you are."

"Y-Yes, sir," he saluted quickly and she sighed again.

"You spook too easily. Show some backbone, your master demands it of you."

Negi chuckled uncomfortably and bid her good night. Then, he raced back to the front to rejoin his partners where he was met with a smack to the head.

"Asuna-san!" he exclaimed, wiping the tears out of his eyes.

She placed her hands on her hips and said, "You let the crotchety old bat get away!"

"That doesn't mean you should hit me," he muttered, rubbing his head resentfully.

--

"We're lost, aren't we?"

"Yeah, we're lost."

Haruna pulled at her hair as she groaned, "I knew we shouldn't have taken that shortcut!"

"Hey! It said 'To the city,' all right?" Asuna frowned, as she swiveled her head like an owl in search of prey. In this case, the prey would be the road they had been following for the last ten minutes. Now, it had been completely covered up by the dense undergrowth of the forest.

"How did you know it was a shortcut anyways?" Konoka asked and stepped closer to Negi and Setsuna.

Inwardly, Negi had the same doubts but he was too polite to mention them. Instead, he detached from the group of girls and scouted ahead.

Behind him, the girls continued their bickering.

"How was I supposed to know that this stupid road's older than I am?"

"That's exaggerating just a little bit…"

"Either way, it wasn't my fault!"

Setsuna's voice pointed out stoically, "No one ever said it was your fault."

"Negi-sensei? Where are we going?"

Craning his head around, Negi found Nodoka dogging his every step like an adoring puppy. Her eyes, hidden behind her bangs though they were, had a sparkle to them that gave Negi both a pleasantly queasy feeling and a queasily queasy feeling.

It was in this way that the group of eight entered a large clearing.

All of a sudden, the dense tangle of branches over head disappeared and out of the emptiness overhead came a brilliant array of stars like chandeliers hanging from a tall ceiling painted black. Such sights did not captivate the audience however, who merely didn't bother looking up and instead focused their attention on the landscape.

A river ran through what was gradually beginning to resemble a park, judging by the old brick bridge that traversed the flowing liquid. Other smoothed spots on which the moonlight shone revealed the remnants of an old stone path slowly taken over by green life. In the night, the slightly protruding blocks cast shadows several times longer than their own meager height creating a desolate mess made gloomier by the varying shades of gray.

Or so it seemed to its beholders.

"This place is weird"

"It's just a bit too silent."

"Well, it is abandoned," Asuna pointed out matter-of-factly.

Yue sounded just a touch drier than her usual monotone when she replied, "Thank you for that lesson in the obvious."

"Chisame-san, where are we?" Negi cut in.

"How would I know?" the girl exclaimed, throwing up her hands in reply, "I'm not a walking map!"

"Actually, you kind of are," said Konoka, pulling out her own pactio card to prove her point.

As Chisame pulled up a map with her artifact and the others continued their light banter, Nodoka drifted off to the side for a more realistic view of the park than what had been thought up by their over-imaginative minds. So it was that she was the first to stumble across the only building standing in the clearing. At first glance, it seemed almost part of the park's sloping hills and mixed in with the background of trees, the number of which was sparser than the forest but still plentiful.

It was a crumbling old thing, with only one wall still standing. A combination of moss and vines had completely taken over this last monument of the structure. Nodoka walked around it, picking her way through the rubble left behind from the caved-in roof and tentatively touched a patch of bare stone. It was smooth to her touch, worn – a reflective and bright white in the dark night.

But despite how much she looked, she couldn't imagine what the building might have been built for. With a slight frown hovering on her lips, she walked away.

She had not gotten more than a few steps when a voice called out from high above. "The skies are beautiful when there is nothing to block it. Why then, do humans never look up?"

Nodoka let out a yelp in her surprise, and spun around like a mouse caught outside its hole. There was nothing behind her but the old wall, of course, but a moment of confused staring later, her mind caught up with her ears and her head snapped up.

Her eyes reached upwards and were instantly locked into two orbs glowing with black fire.

A series of images flashed before her eyes – a room full of books, dimly lit by dying candles; a tall spire adorned with strange protruding blocks of metal and other things that she didn't understand but made it seem a contraption; a sphere, cobalt-blue glass.

"Nodoka-san, what happened?"

In the instant the words registered in her mind, Negi's voice became the lifeline that Nodoka mentally grabbed to bring her back to reality. "Negi-sensei!" she cried in relief. "Look up there!"

Obeying, Negi looked up and saw a child, wrapped in a black jacket, staring back down at him atop the white wall. Seeing none of what was even now fading from Nodoka's mind, Negi's first thought was for the boy's safety. He yelled, "Hey, get down from there! It's dangerous!"

But before he could figure out a way to help him climb down, the child slipped off the wall, the jacket clasped round his neck fluttering in his descent like wings spread out to catch the air, almost as if he was a hatchling just learning to fly. His drop was so quick and so unexpected that not even Negi's ingrained reflexes could react in time.

He landed on the ground with only slight tap.

"Things are not always what they seem," the boy commented nonchalantly before all color was replaced by grey.

Negi quickly covered his mouth but the dust was permeating and he couldn't help but cough as it got into his nose and throat. He couldn't tell what it was that had created the cloud of dust but that didn't matter when compared to Nodoka's safety. With that though pushing him on, he ignored the burning in his eyes and throat and leapt through the veil and threw his hand forward.

He touched something soft and smooth and instantly grabbed it, but as he did so, something struck his face followed by a second hit in the stomach that launched him backwards out of the cloud. Negi hit the ground hard, gasping for air and fighting to keep his stomach from heaving up all its contents. In his hand, he clutched a ripped sleeve.

Pulling himself up with sheer determination, he looked up just in time to ward off a circle of magic missiles with his hand and a burst of magic. Sitting partially up, he glared at the boy who he now was convinced had been the boy who had sparred with Mana.

"Let her go," Negi growled as he pushed himself off the ground.

The boy only smiled back. Next to him, Nodoka shook in her bonds, black glowing strips rooted in the ground that bound her body so that she could not even turn her head. The only thing that she could move was currently in the grip of the mage. Fingers clasped with hers, the boy swung their arms to and fro in a contentment that scared Nodoka more than the magic that crawled over her body.

"Negi-sensei, help," she tried to whimper but found that her voice had deserted her. She was not sure whether it was a result of magic or her own fear.

Hearing the explosion's roar had brought the other girls running, but Nodoka's capture now brought them all to a skidding halt.

"Let Nodoka-san go," Negi demanded again. His fists were clenched so hard that he had to force them apart before his fingers completely went through his palm.

"Pay my price," the boy simply replied.

"What do you want?"

"Whatever you have in your pockets."

Negi gaped, yet before he could ask how the mage could have known about the contents of his pockets, Setsuna leapt into action, unsheathing her sword in a movement too quick for the eye to catch.

"Zankuusen! – _Air-Cutting Flash!_"

With inhuman reflexes the boy jumped away with a speed that rivaled Setsuna's, acting before her blade had completely cleared its sheath, and threw Nodoka, bonds and all, into its path.

But to both Nodoka and her captor's surprise, the strike ripped through all her bonds without touching a patch of skin and slammed directly into the mage. He staggered back, jacket in tatters though he himself seemed to be unharmed. Then, before he could regain his bearings, he was attacked again.

Negi flashed in front of him, fist already pulled back, and let loose a massive, magically-charged punch into his face. The explosion of magic lifted both of the mages off of their feet though one landed lightly a few feet back and the other was blown into the sky.

All of it had happened in such speed that Asuna and the others could only gape and look on in confusion. By the time Yue decided to help a nearly collapsing Nodoka, Negi had begun charging another volley of magic arrows.

Disoriented, his target hung in the air, the edges of his body strangely wavering and vibrating like the blank grey static of a broken television screen, but Negi paid no mind to the little details. With another flare of power, he shouted, **"Sagitta Magica, Series Lucis** – _Magic Archer, Arrows of Light!"_

Orbs of bright light danced a ring about his body before rocketing forward into the air towards the opposing mage like fireworks at the stars. He could tell that his spell did not come as a surprise, but there was no doubt in his mind that it would hit.

Then, a harsh whistle broke open the air, cracking it as if it was an eggshell. A large, flat blade appeared in front of them and swung in a half-moon arc completely deflecting all of Negi's arrows into the ground. A moment later, the hand gripping its silvery hilt appeared out of the night, followed by the body possessing the hand, and last of all, glowing, golden-green eyes.

"You cut it a little close, Sagio-sama," greeted the hovering magician.

"Sagio…" Negi breathed, staring up at the boy in incredulity.

As if there was nothing unusual about standing on empty air, Sagio raised his massive blade in front of him. The movement produced a low whistle considerably gentler than the screaming that had marked his appearance.

"Negi Springfield, we meet again," he said. "And this time, there will be no holding back."

--

**- To be Continued…**


	11. Down to the Swirling Depths

Notes:

**Notes:**

"Speech."

Thoughts

"**Spells."**

**Termination of Spirit: Contract's Initiation**

**Chapter Eleven: Down to the Swirling Depths**

--

"What are you doing here?" Negi demanded of the rogue mage, "You're supposed to be in prison," he added in surprised recollection that it had not been that many days ago since the rogue had been caught.

With a barely veiled smile, Sagio replied, "Well, it seems I'm not. Those people really need to be less helpful to minors. It makes prison breaks all that easier." Then, a frown replaced his smile, and he said, "But this is rather a lot of talk."

"Shall we get started?" he asked as calmly as if he was inviting a friend to tea.

Still unable to grasp the situation, Asuna voiced the sentiment of all the girls in one simple sentence: **"What the heck is going on here?"**

"I'm sure little brother there can tell you all you want to know, that is, if I don't hurt him too much. Rest assured I'll try my best. After all, we wouldn't want him to die now, would we?"

Hearing the threat, it all fell into place for her. It didn't matter who this person was, not really, or why he was here. What mattered was that Negi was in danger.

"All right, we'll have it your way," she growled. Then, catching Negi's concerned glance, she said, "Now I don't care how or why you're always getting into trouble and I don't want to know. Just remember that it's my responsibility to get you out of it."

"Touching. Now throw away your brave words and get out of the way." With this final courtesy said, Sagio dropped down towards Negi, falling blade first with another screaming whistle.

"Oh no you don't," countered Asuna. With a cry of **"Adeat!"** she summoned her demon-slaying blade and swung it upwards with all her force.

The magically fortified steel rang loudly as it clashed with another one of its ilk and let out another ear-splitting screech as it was ripped away from its brother. Asuna darted back out of the way as Sagio came back in for a another swing and only just managed to bring her blade back up in time to block a further strike aimed at her chest.

Sagio was forced to go on the defensive, however, when Negi leapt into the fray, taking the boy's attention with fistfuls of magic. Negi's first palm-strike missed the target, but he spun around a chop from Sagio's weapon and grabbed it with his left. Instantly, Negi released the magic charged in his left hand and sent a searing electrical shock through the sword.

The other boy flicked his wrist and the blade disappeared leaving only the silvery hilt. With its path gone, the electrical charge dissipated into the air.

Both of them jumped back at the same time. Negi gathered energy for another spell while Sagio swung the blade-hilt to summon its sharp, flat blade once again. Then, the stalemate broke and they charged at each other with bright bursts of magic gathering around them.

Asuna tried to intervene with a savage downward blow but the nimble enemy mage slipped around the strike and kicked her away. Asuna and her blade were separated by the force, the girl flying one way and the large sword remaining stuck in the crack it had formed when it had hit the ground.

But though he was untouched, the delay had caught Sagio off guard. Negi sent two waves of projectiles at him, eleven arrows of light followed by another eleven shining bolts of green. The rogue mage responded with his own volley of arrows that met their white kin in midair, wrapped around them, and pulled them out of the air. Yet streaking behind the first wave of arrows came the second.

Planting his feet, Sagio deflected them away with a swing of his weapon, but his defensive move left him wide open. He almost didn't see it, blinded by the magic he had knocked away, but at the last moment, he ducked under Setsuna's swift slash, rolled forward, and leapt out of the way of her follow-up swing.

Before he could react, however, something slammed into his back. In his surprise, his reflexes were slowed just enough so that he was still trying to identify what had hit him when he was jerked to a mid-air halt. A glowing purple chain wrapped around his foot like one from a prison. Except this one wasn't attached to a stone wall.

"Yue-san," Negi exclaimed.

"Couldn't let you fight alone," she grunted, tightening her hold on the magic chain that currently held Sagio at bay.

"We're your partners, after all," Nodoka added, lowering her wand with a sigh of relief.

With a sharp tug, Asuna retrieved her sword from the ground and pointed it at the rogue mage, "How do you like it now that you're leashed like a dog?"

"Very free, actually," he replied. In a flash, he brought his leg up and grabbed the chain round his ankle. With a startled cry, Yue was pulled into the air by the same chain she had snared Sagio with and a second later found the boy's arm around her waist locking her hands to her side.

"Thank you for coming tonight," he flashed them a smirk. "As a courtesy, I'd like to perform for you a musical piece that I composed myself."

Flicking his wrist his weapon once again lost its blade and became a silvery hilt, but as he raised it to his lips, it became obvious that it was not a blade-hilt, but instead, a flute.

He began playing a slow tune and, to Negi's eyes, seemed to fade away. The reality of the situation dispelled his shock and he began furiously chanting a spell. Never had he seemed to speak so fast. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Haruna furiously drawing something on her sketch pad, but ignored it and focused completely on his spell.

"**Sagitta Magica, Series Aeriales **– _Magic Archer, Arrows of Wind!"_

The pale green orbs he had summoned around him spun around his body once before leaping at the rogue mage like a pack of wolves in both speed and ferocity, but before they could reach their prey it disappeared. Bewildered, the magic scattered chaotically, transforming from an ordered group into a momentarily mist of particles before that too disappeared.

Negi slowly lowered the hand he had raised subconsciously and stood still. He stared at the empty air as a gust of cold wind callously reminded him of the utter silence and stillness of his surroundings except for the leaves shaking with a hollow rattle.

He wasn't even breathing hard.

Something threatened to swallow him up then and there, a beast with fangs of fear. It rose up from the depths of his being with a jumble of words that only he could hear. With sheer willpower, he pushed the insidious voice away from his mind and focused on the most important thing to him.

He had failed to protect Yue, a student, a partner, and most importantly, a friend.

Dimly, he noticed the girls begin to murmur, and soon a whole argument broke out. Half-heartedly, he listened to the words being thrown into the air but nothing gripped his attention; it was just a mindless clamor.

Then, something broke through the cage of shock that had rendered him unable to move, to think: Asuna.

"Now's not the time to mope around," she said. "We need to go after them."

Negi turned sideways so that they were to his right side and listened on.

"But we don't even know where they went," Konoka pointed out.

"Library Island."

Every eye turned to the diminutive voice that had offered up location.

"What? How do you know?" Asuna inquired.

Flustered, Nodoka said, "I-I just know…"

"But where?"

"I think I can help with that," Haruna broke in with an arrogance that was more subdued than usual, but her casual smirk was familiar enough that a few of the others visibly relaxed. "I planted a bug of sorts on Yue – you know, like on those mystery shows where the detective sticks a tracker onto the car before it drives away – before she was…" She trailed off there but forced herself to continue. "I'm sure that Chiu-chan can track them down with her artifact."

"Me again?" the bespectacled girl exclaimed. "Why do you always have to drag me into your messes?"

"Hey!" Asuna barked, "They're your messes too. You became one of us the moment you smooched mage boy over there. And don't you care about what happens to Yue?"

Chisame had no comeback for that. She tried once, opening her mouth, but nothing came out and she shut it again with a scowl. Closing her eyes, she muttered, **"Adeat…"** and her artifact appeared at her command.

Eyes still closed, a soft golden glow began to spread around her as if the sun had rose, its rays spreading across a field of dew-soaked grass to signal the advent of dawn. The girl tightened her concentration and the glow reined itself into what passed as the shape of a sphere.

"What am I looking for?" she asked without looking at Haruna.

The artist started a quick sketch in her own artifact and finished with a flourish. As her quill left the paper, a small black pebble fell out of the drawing and into her hand. It was still for a second, then it suddenly cracked and two eyes popped out. Soon, it was apparent that it hadn't cracked at all, but had simply split apart so that its body became vaguely like a turtle's. Using the four legs it now possessed, it stood and waited.

Haruna strode quickly towards Chisame and deposited the tiny rock turtle onto her shoulder. The girl visibly jumped at the contact and snapped her eyes open. Her sphere of glowing particles dulled for a second before she regained control.

"What… is that thing?" Chisame asked with strained concentration.

"Pebble Radar the Second," its proud creator told her. "It'll help you pinpoint the exact location of Pebble Radar the First."

"Stupid name…" Chisame commented absentmindedly before exclaiming, "Got it!"

In her sphere of influence, a group of golden particles clumped together and changed color, the red spreading through them as if seeping through powdered ice. Then, with a wave of Chisame's wand, the three dimensional map collapsed into the size of a crystal ball which hovered around the girl like a curious hummingbird around a group of flowers.

The two looked back to the others. "We're set."

"All right, let's go then," Asuna said meaningfully. Now that the energy she had employed to carefully hold her infamous impatience in check had become unnecessary, she exuded an eagerness that was almost tangible.

As one, they looked to the core of their unit for final confirmation. Negi felt a great burden press on him suddenly and with great strength. He looked over the girls for a long moment, thoughts whirling. It was past time he ended his indecisiveness, he decided. It was past time he endangered them all.

"Asuna-san, Setsuna-san, Haruna-san, and Chisame-san, you're coming with me."

A hush fell. It was very clear from the names not called what Negi implied. The boy cast his eyes downward for a second, but then straightened and looked up calling upon a strength pooled deep inside of him. It supported him, the strength to make a decision, the strength to decide who he would endanger and who he wouldn't.

"What about us?" Negi's dorm mate finally asked. His friend, the librarian, nodded quickly as well.

Knowing full well the way they would response, he gave them a small, sad smile and said, "Please go find Chao-san and tell her we need to talk. Soon."

"But we want to go with you."

Firmly, he said, "Not this time. Out of us all, only Asuna-san, Setsuna-san, and I can fight. I need Chisame-san and Haruna-san to lead us to where the rogue mages are hiding." Negi took a quick breath. "I… the rogue mages," he tried to explain, "they're… they're dangerous."

"O-Of course," Konoka conceded, "but that's why we should go too! I can heal you if you get hurt and Nodoka-san can lead us through Library Island. It was her idea in the first place."

"I learned healing magic too," Negi pointed out calmly.

Konoka gave him a petulant pout. "Well, I can do it better than you can. You tell him, Set-chan."

Setsuna looked from mage to mage, friend to friend, then opened her mouth… but said nothing, and kept quiet.

"Set-chan?"

Confronted directly, she felt pressured to answer. But what could she say? On the one hand, she didn't want to disappoint her friend, but on the other hand, her duty was to keep her princess safe at all times.

So her eyes were downcast when she finally said, "Negi-sensei's got a point."

Her tone was close to emotionless and her words carefully tailored to be cautious and neutral. Konoka glared at her and Negi with all the anger she muster, but backed off nonetheless.

"I see," she said and looked away.

Negi said nothing more to her. It wasn't that he didn't see her tightly clenched fists; it was that he knew that saying anything more would be more painful for her than helpful.

He turned to Nodoka, "Please go with Konoka-san and find Chao-san. It's very important that I talk to her and finally figure out what is going on for once."

For a second, Negi thought that the girl was going to protest, but she held her silence and nodded slightly. Apparently, she thought that quiet acquiescence was better than fruitless arguing. After all, Negi could be more stubborn than Asuna when he put his mind to it.

He turned away from them. If I wait any longer, I'll…

"Let's go."

He led his small army of strange, out of the ordinary girls away. It felt like he was abandoning Konoka and Nodoka, two of their own number, but he grit his teeth and walked on.

He tried his best, but in the end, he couldn't help but look back.

--

Library Island was strangely empty. Or not so strangely empty considering the time. Haruna opened up a side door with her key and let in Negi and the others. Chisame's glowing map shed a circle of light though its constant bobbing motions more distorted the shadows than illuminated the area around them.

"Rather intimidating breaking into the Library at night, isn't it?" Haruna asked without seeming the least bit intimidated.

"Someone shut her up," Asuna growled.

"Yes, please do," Chisame added.

Negi ignored their antics and Setsuna sighing, decided to follow his example.

Haruna led them to the elevators. When the doors opened, she quipped "All aboard," and then added, at Chisame's glare, "Shutting up."

The four girls and Negi crowded into the elevator. It was a tight fit with everyone packed into the small metal box, but no one complained. Negi was in a strange mood and his silence made it too oppressive for any of them to say anything. Even Asuna seemed strangely subdued.

"What level?" Setsuna asked, mainly because she was the one closest to the buttons.

Chisame took a moment repositioning herself to the yelps and mutterings of her cellmates before she was able to check the map. "C'mere you," she snapped at the ball, before saying, "Level eighty-seven section B, wherever that is."

Setsuna pressed the buttons and the elevator started on its way. To its occupants, it seemed slow and ponderous a motion. Especially to Negi, the elevator was too slow, too confining. He needed to be able to actually do something. He needed somewhere to run, somewhere to stretch his wings, somewhere to gorge on…

Negi shook his head, almost bumping into Asuna next to him. "Negi… are you all right?" she asked. Her concern made him feel guilty.

"I… I'm fine, Asuna-san, really," he replied. "It's just a little… stuffy in here."

"Yeah, no kidding," Chisame grumbled but she didn't add to her complaint. She seemed a little out of it, a little flushed. Now that Negi thought about it, all of them – Asuna, Chisame, Haruna, Setsuna, even himself – seemed to be rather sweaty and exuded a rather pleasant aroma…

Be quiet, Negi told the other voice. Stop putting thoughts in my head. It's not gentlemanlike to think of these…

So you admit that these thoughts are not gentlemanlike, but not that you don't like...

That's not what I meant. It's not proper – for anyone – to think these kind of…

But you're thinking them anyways.

"Negi-sensei," Setsuna said, jarring him from his internal debate.

"Y-Yes, Setsuna-san?"

"Get ready."

"Get ready? For what?" And why only me? he added to himself.

Suddenly, the elevator stopped with a loud crash and the lights went off. Now, the only illumination came from Chisame's glowing map.

"What… happened…?" Haruna gasped out.

Negi also noticed, quite suddenly, the sudden shortage of air. His breaths were shallow as if he couldn't get quite enough oxygen to fill his lungs. The stuffiness ceased to be a question of comfort. Now, it was a matter of life and death. It was choking them to death.

He banged a fist against the wall.

"Negi…?" Asuna whispered, dripping with sweat like everyone else.

"I should have paid more attention."

"Paid more attention? What do you…?"

"We're in a magic seal. It was done so subtly that I didn't even notice… No, I should have noticed, but I was so caught up in…"

"Calm yourself, Negi-sensei," Setsuna told him calmly. She too seemed to be perspiring heavily but not as much as the other girls. "We'll get out of this."

"But…"

"Calm yourself. Take a breath," she commanded in the stern tone she usually reserved for times when she was angry. "Only fools rush to their fate willingly."

"R-Right…" He took a deep breath, or as deep as he could. Then, he smiled at Setsuna and added, "Though now's not quite the time for proverbs."

Asuna groaned. "Stop talking and just get us out of here."

That half-demon's quite the levelheaded one.

Negi closed his eyes and concentrated on the seal set around them. It was obviously a trap that had been sprung when they descended past a certain level. He spread his magical senses and recoiled when they touched the seal. He half jumped from the shock but waved off the looks of concern that came his way.

And quite a looker as well.

He tried again, but he could already feel the seal reacting to him. This time, he moved with much more care. He treated his magic touch like a surgeon's blade. One wrong move and everything would irreversibly over. He'd fail, forever. He stretched out to the seal…

Come on, don't you want her?

…ignoring the insidious voice growing louder in his mind…

Not even a taste? I've never had a half-demon for a pet before. And her blood! It'd be sickly sweet.

… and unlocked the seal with a harsh twist of his magic.

Spoil sport…

The lights came back on the elevator and the vents started with a roar and rush of cool air. They breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Negi-sensei," Setsuna said. Negi gulped inwardly and turned to her. "Good job."

"Uh… thank, thank you," he stammered back, suddenly flushing. The other voice laughed in his mind.

Then, the elevator door opened with a ding. Haruna Asuna raced out gratefully with Chisame walking out with a bit more grace… but only a bit. Negi followed them with Setsuna bringing up the rear.

Library Island, it's been way too long, Negi thought with sarcasm.

The others walked around, looking at the maze of a path before them. The road was made by the top of large book shelves. It was a precarious path with only pitch-black darkness on either side.

Chisame, being the only one who had never ventured into the depths of Library Island, stared around in wonder. A very freaked out yet still slightly amazed wonder.

"Chisame-san," he said.

The girl spun towards him, "Y-Yes?"

"Please lead the way."

"Uh… Right. Right," she replied, gathering her thoughts. She cleared her throat and said more gruffly, "This way."

"Everything all cleared up?" Setsuna asked Negi as the Chisame stepped gingerly over a gap between bookshelves.

"Y-Yeah…"

"Glad to hear that," she said, and then fell back a few steps.

The group walked in relative silence while casting suspicious glances around them. They shared the uncomfortable feeling of being watched, a feeling akin to being prodded by needles so slim that they were hidden by the very light that should have revealed them.

Suddenly, all movement stopped.

"Chisame-san?" Negi asked. When no reply came, he increased his pace until he reached the front.

There, in front of them, the line of bookcases suddenly ended. Instead, the path split into two curves which lined the rim of a giant pit. They walked cautiously to the edge of the pit and looked down.

It was a sheer drop.

Negi gave it one look and then jumped down into the gloom without hesitation. His voice called up, "It's safe… for now."

The girls looked at each other and then back down at the glowering darkness where they could only just make out the red of Negi's hair.

With expressions akin to the condemned along with whatever courage they could muster, they followed their leader into the abyss.

The sound of flapping wings echoed strangely in the circular pit as they settled next to Negi and his staff. All around them stood books. In fact, the very walls of the pit were made of bookshelves. Tome after tome of mysterious text lined the smooth, curving walls, undoubtedly protected by traps. But the traps were the least of their concerns.

Negi gave the black veil below one last lingering look and then turned around.

Two large, round eyes stared nblinkingly at him, holding his stare until a loud hoot broke him out of their hypnotism. Negi yelped and swayed back, almost falloff of his staff. The large, snowy white owl, so large that it could match twice his size, gave him one more look, and then it dismissed him. It tilted its head back and up towards the people sitting upon its back for further orders.

"W-What?" he could only stammer in shock.

"How do you like it?" Haruna purred with pride. She rubbed the owl's head and it hooted happily. "One of my best drawings."

"It's very… uh… big?" Negi offered.

"Isn't it?"

Asuna's head popped up from behind a great furry ear. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"N-No," he replied. Still, he drifted off to the side so the owl's large eyes did not stare so directly at him. Even as he moved however, those great big orbs followed. With both the owl and a threat of imminent danger, Negi was more than distracted when he asked, "Uh… Is Chisame-san and, uh… Setsuna-san there with you?"

His answer came in a moan and the flapping of separate pair of wings. "I'm right here," Setsuna said, "and Chisame-san is riding on the owl. Apparently, she's not good with heights."

"Heights I'm fine with," Chisame groaned. "Bottomless abysses, I 'm not."

Negi looked around. "Everyone's accounted for… then this is it. Yue-san is down there?"

"Apparently," Chisame grumbled.

"All right then, let's go," Negi spoke grimly. "Be careful, we don't know what's down there." With a small loop, he began his descent down, followed by Setsuna with naked blade in hand.

"Whatever's down there won't know what hit it," Asuna announced, full of bravado.

With an answering hoot, the owl stretched out its wings, flapped mightily one last time, and then tucked its wings in, spiraling into a slow dive after Negi and Setsuna.

"Now this is what you call riding in style," Haruna whooped.

"I think I'm going to be sick!"

--

**- To be Continued…**


	12. Final Confrontation

**Notes:** Join me for the end of a long journey and the resolution to a story that never was.

"Speech."

Thoughts

"**Spells."**

**Termination of Spirit: Contract's Initiation**

**Chapter Twelve: Final Confrontation**

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So this is what we've been looking for?" The voice was filled with skepticism.

"I guess it is kind of small… Doesn't seem to have much magic either."

"So this is an artifact?" Someone laughed. "Seems like you wasted your time, An."

"Keep your gloating till after we prove it doesn't work."

Yue was completely disoriented. Her eyes were open—they had been when she came to—but she couldn't see anything. At least, she couldn't see anything that could be considered normal. Light exploded like wild fireworks. Splotches of white filled her vision along with short periods of sudden darkness. It was unnerving to say the least.

"How do you work it, anyways?"

"Don't ask me. I'm not the smart-aleck."

A peal of laughter rang out. Yue winced at the noise. A weird ringing started in her head.

"Ha, that's very funny. Laugh all you want at your little jokes. Just leave me in peace to figure this out."

Yue blinked, and that seemed to clear her vision, albeit slightly. Still, a little bit was better than nothing, so while she experimented with getting off the ground, she tried to blink as fast as she could. She found that she could sit up, but anything more was too much for her. Her strength was sapped away by every action and that strange ringing still echoed in her head. Her head felt like a dead weight on her shoulders.

Symptoms of a concussion, she remembered from a book.

"I wasn't laughing at the joke, silly. I was laughing at you. And what makes you think that little card's an artifact, anyways? Isn't a card just a card?"

"It's what's inside the card that's important."

"Oh, then why don't you just do this?"

"Hey, wait!"

Pain blossomed in her chest. She yelped, but the sound was covered up by a large explosion. Yue clutched her chest. Her stomach fluttered, kind of like nervous butterflies, but queasier and unnatural.

Something rushed past her face and she made the mistake of breathing it in. An acrid taste hit her tongue and she coughed as it got into her lungs. Her eyes burned, tearing up. She wanted to be sick, but her brain thought over the combination of queasiness and physical discomfort.

Coughing, tearing eyes, feels like wind… Symptoms of smoke, maybe because of that explosion? But the discomfiting feeling in her chest was still there.

Yue blinked again. Her vision began to clear. Though her eyes still stared blankly, the white splotches were slowly fading away and the darkness was growing lighter.

The voices started up again.

"Watch where you're throwing your magic!"

"Hey, at least it worked."

Finally, Yue's vision cleared enough to make out the shapes of three other people. Her presumed captors were gathered around a table, what was left of one, and were examining something in their midst.

"Huh, so blowing up stuff does work sometimes."

"What do you mean sometimes? Everything needs a little push to get it going."

"Hush you two; let's see if all this was worth it."

She looked around. The room was dark, dark enough that she could tell through her half-blindness. There wasn't much around in the way of furniture; there were no chairs, couches, or anything to sit on, and no tables save for the remains of the one destroyed.

In all aspects, the room was as plain as plain could be. All aspects except for one: the uncountable number of books strewn everywhere the eye could see. They littered the floor, hung skewed from bookshelves that served as walls, and some even hung suspended in the air as if by magic, though Yue could make out the thin, near invisible string they dangled from.

One thought came to mind: Library Island.

The next thought was, Why the heck am I here? And how did I get here?

A dim image rose up from her bewildered mind. She couldn't get much from the fuzzy memory, but she received the distinct impression that whatever had happened, it hadn't been pleasant, an impression that translated to her circumstances now.

Whatever the reason, Yue did not think that it was a good idea to stay here in Library Island any longer. She gave the room another look, just in case she had missed something before. As she searched, her vision began to come together, and with it the scattered pieces of her memory. Her head still felt like a bowling ball on her shoulders, but it was a discomfort she could push to the side.

So, pushing her discomfort aside, she stood and looked around. Her eyes cleared completely and she could see. Her earlier observation of the room's illumination had been correct. Dim was an understatement, yet at the same time, it described the room perfectly. Though it was too dark to be dim, Yue didn't feel any panic, as if the world had been muffled by a blanket.

"Hey, what're you doing?"

She froze. Did they spot her?

Slowly, she turned towards her captors and in that instant, her memory became whole again. She reached into her pocket and gripped her wand tightly, but to her relief, she found that there was no need for her caution. The trio had not noticed her. Their focus was completely taken up by the object they stood around.

Still, Yue drew her wand for good measure. She ran through a spell recitation in her mind to make sure she remembered it. She didn't know if she could pull it off during a fight, but "It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared." (1)

Another voice inside her countered, "He who fights and runs away will live to fight another day."

She knew that she should leave, but her curiosity tugged at her. In the end, she decided to take a glimpse before going on her way. The information might prove useful later. So, half willingly, half unwillingly, she sneaked around a bookcase and took a peek.

To her frustration, she couldn't see a thing; one of them stood in her line of sight. Hopefully, the person would move, but having to wait gave her time to determine the identities of her captors.

Captors… shouldn't there only be one? Yue thought. That Sagio person was working in a group then? Why did Negi-sensei know him, and why did he take me, someone he doesn't even know?

She shook her head as if doing so could answer her questions, but of course, it was useless. To take her mind off her confusion and worry, she examined the children. They really were only children. At least, as much children as she was a child.

Yue assumed the one whose back faced her was a girl. She had long hair and clothing that further suggested her feminism. Her unobstructed view of the other two clearly identified them as boys. Both seemed to be average, young rogue-mages-in-hiding, but one sported an eye-patch across his right eye. Yue assumed he was the leader, judging from his imperious expression. The last member of the group turned and Yue caught a good look at his face. She ducked back into cover and frowned. There was no doubt, he was her abductor.

Her heart began to beat faster. Did they do something to me, some sort of spell that lets them know if I'm awake or where I am? What about now? Are they just pretending they don't see me? Faster, her heart beat faster. Negi-sensei lost to him… No, he ran away, but if Sensei couldn't stop him, how am I supposed to get out of here without noticing?

One of them began to talk, and the sound brought her back to the world. She shook her head.

No, stay calm. There must be something you can do. In her mind, she went over the spell incantation again. Find out what they're doing and then get out. Finish the mission.

She gave the air a little salute as if she was a character in a novel. The action calmed her down a little, enough for her courage to pull itself back together. With a deep breath, she eased her head around the corner.

The three still hadn't noticed her, but their positions had changed. Now, she could see—though barely—what they had been gathering around. There was the table she had noticed before, and on top...

**Orbis Sensualium Pictus! **My artifact!

This time, she did more than frown; she gasped. She did so involuntarily, but the noise was enough to give her away. Sagio spotted her and said, "She's awake."

"She's awake? Where?"

The boy with the eye patch turned, as did the girl, but the girl opted for a more dramatic spin. Yue received another surprise when she recognized the face staring at her. Risc clasped her hands behind her back. Yue stammered, "T-The new girl?"

"Ah!" Risc exclaimed, pointing at Yue. "She… uh, Ayase? Ayase remembers me! Uh… Ayase is your name, right?" She turned to her companion. "That's her name, right, Sagi?"

Instead of replying, Sagio gave Risc a pointed stare and said, "They're here."

Risc took the hint, folded her arms behind her head, and began sauntering off into the darkness. Her voice floated from the darkness. "I guess I'll go take care of the riffraff then, but I'll come back soon to entertain our guest."

"Who's…?" Yue began to ask, but then the world began to shake.

Yue could tell it wasn't just her; the two boys wobbled as well. A loud explosion accompanied the shaking ground. Bookshelves donated to the already book-strewn floor. Slowly, the rumblings ceased.

The boy with the eye patch offered her a smile and then looked up at the unseen ceiling.

"Looks like we've got company. Would you care to stay for tea?"

---

An explosion shook the curved walls of the pit. The convulsion created miniature waterfalls of falling books.

Amid the torrential rain of books, a blade flashed in the gloom. Severing limbs and wings as it went by, the blade of evening calm struck a path through a legion of monsters. However, the resulting cries of pain only served to drive the guardians of the abyss into greater fury. Screams of rage and harsh, cackling laughter quickly drowned out all other sound.

A group of chimaeras detached from the main host were suddenly and efficiently eradicated by lightning-fast bullets. Negi dispersed the excess of magic rushing through his system into his hands and began chanting another spell. The magic rose from his hands like mist before forming into solid balls of light.

Soon, dozens of magical orbs spun around him. These orbs formed rings that seemed to hang in the air like rings of fire. As he finished his incantation, the rings began to spin faster around him, fiercer, but he didn't release his magic.

The mage hovered away from the combat zone though the battlefield was quickly moving in his direction as proved by the monsters breaking off towards him. Taking advantage of the lull in combat, he tracked Setsuna's movements in the mob.

The chimaeras—great misshapen creatures with mish-mashed combinations of body parts—couldn't touch the winged swordswoman, but she in turn, couldn't seem to fell any of the demons. She sliced, stabbed, and maimed, but the tough armor of the chimaeras protected them from mortal injuries. Setsuna was only one person trying to do the work of ten.

Her path curved suddenly. With a rush of flying body parts trailing her, she burst out of the battle, trailed by a dozen or so monsters. Negi took his chance.

He threw his hand forward and the motion was imitated by his magic. Magic arrows lanced downwards towards the stream of monsters following his partner. The magic took them unawares and pierced several of them. Those struck had their existence snuffed out before they could even realize what had happened.

But Negi now had their attention. He knew it had to be done, but that didn't mean he liked it. The front line of the army headed his way. He hadn't used all of his magic to cover Setsuna's retreat. This time, he spared nothing against the immediate danger.

Like heat-seeking missiles, the magic arrows each found their own target. The magic tore through the crowd of monsters, but the creatures could not be slain so easily. The mob shrugged off what casualties it had taken and kept pressing forward. Negi tried again with an unspoken spell, but the small dent he made in their numbers was quickly overcome by reinforcements from the main host.

Negi grit his teeth. He was outnumbered, at least twenty to one.

Why not try me out then? a voice whispered silkily. Twenty might be hard for you, but that's easy for me.

Negi growled in response, but indecision slowed down his reactions. A chimera came dangerously close to lopping off his head.

Then, a white flash appeared from above. A large ball of feathers dived into the front line and scattered the monsters like a wedge heavily armored horses plowing into the ranks unarmored foot soldiers. Haruna's large owl rose from the dive, clawed feet raking at the few that pursued it, and climbed back into the air next to Negi.

"Thanks, Haruna-san," Negi called. Haruna gave him a thumbs up and then wheeled back towards him.

"Some thrill ride, huh?" Haruna called back to her passengers.

"A tunnel of monsters?" Asuna frowned. "Yeah, I can't wait to get off."

Haruna's second passenger covered her mouth. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Now, now. Hang in there, Chisame-san."

"Oh I'm hanging. I'm literally hanging."

A loud roar echoed in the pit. "Here comes another wave!"

A dozen or so chimaeras rushed at the intruders to their lair. A blanket of arrows took them down, but one managed to dodge all the arrows. It rushed straight for Negi.

The creature had caught him in the lag time that came after casting a spell. Still, Negi was fast enough to dodge the large claw and flew over the gaping jaw that threatened to bite off his legs. He evaded the barbed wings as well. However, the scorpion tail that suddenly snapped at him caught him off guard. Negi banked to the side, but his reaction was too slow.

He braced himself and hoped his magic shield would be able to take the full force of the impact.

All of a sudden, the tail was cut apart. The chimera gave a great cry of pain, but a shout interrupted its agony.

"**Samidarekiri**** - **May Rain Cutter!"

A familiar blade sliced the chimera cleanly in half. Without a sound, the monstrous corpse toppled backwards into the gloom below.

Negi smiled in relief. "Thanks, Setsuna-san."

She gave him a smile and then set her blade against the roiling mass of monsters preparing for another charge.

"We can't win like this," Negi said. Addressing all his partners, he said, "Please give me some cover."

Setsuna nodded.

Asuna winked and said, "Got it."

Haruna saluted. "Yes, sir,"

"No!" Chisame wailed.

Then the monsters charged.

Haruna sent the owl on a headlong course, and Asuna stood on the great bird's back, sword at the ready, while Chisame clutched the owl's feathers for dear life.

Setsuna flew beside them, summoning her artifact. The wakizashi appeared in her hand and then multiplied into sixteen copies. The small blades flew in front of her in a wide arc like shaped like a crescent.

The girls hit the chimaeras with an explosive impact. The first wave of monsters was essentially disintegrated, but more poured forward. Soon, the girls were pushed back instead of pushing forward.

"Hyaah! Die you big-winged-things-that-look-like-random-body-parts-meshed-together."

Asuna's long sword swung in a large arc over her head, cleaving through the abdomen of a bug-like chimera and the horns of another. Negi prepared his spell as they fought for time.

**"Come, Spirits of Air and Lightning! Southern Storm Which Blows with Lightning!****Jupiter's Storm of Lightning ****- ****Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens!"**

_Everyone, get out of the way!_

Responding to the telepathic command, Setsuna and the owl bearing Haruna, Asuna, and Chisame split away from the midst of the horde. Then, Negi released his spell.

The massive storm spell plowed into depths of the darkness. Crackling with energy, it exterminated the misshapen shapes of those monsters both near and those at the edge of sight. Slowly, the spell began to fade and the beam of lightning and wind diminished, but before it completely disappeared, Negi raised a hand.

"**Blow, One Gust of Wind! Blow Forth, Dancing Dust - Flans Saltatio Pulverea!"**

The electricity that remained was pushed, blasted outwards. Traveling with the wind, the net of energy caught the remaining monsters with deadly jolts. The survivors turned tail to flee or were quickly dispatched by Setsuna and Asuna as the corpses of their compatriots fell down into the darkness below.

"Looks like that's it," Asuna grinned when Negi joined them. She stood and slung her sword over her shoulder. "That was easy."

"Don't speak so soon, Asuna-san. Remember, assume nothing."

"Yeah, ye…"

A swarm of small birds interrupted her. They darted from out of nowhere and almost succeeded in knocking her over. Asuna swung her sword in retaliation but they flew too fast and merely darted out of the way.

"**Ras Tel Ma Scir Magister,"** Negi began, but a burst of magic distracted him. He could feel the energy coming from below. Someone else was preparing a spell.

Speak quickly, or else… the silky voice warned.

I know! Negi cut it off with a mental yell.

Negi grit his teeth as a voice drifted up. **"Writhing Snakes, Servants of a Greater Whole! Choke the Prey of Your Lord, Apophis!"**

"**A stream of light to cut through the darkness, spring forth from my hand and throttle my enemy! White Lightning - Fulguratio Albicans!"**

"**Sever Breath, Serpent of the Nile, With Forty-Seven Chains of Poison! Poison Chains - Venenum Catena!"**

Negi's spell was far faster and sent down a crackling display of lightning down. He hoped that it would hit the enemy mage, but to no avail. Instead, the enemy's spell came streaking up in reply to the echoes of rumbling thunder.

Dark-green threads flew from out of the darkness. The magic was so dark in color that Negi had to blink furiously to follow their movements. The magic moved in seemingly random patterns, first streaking left, then right, then diagonally downwards. Each moved a different way, and as a result, they came at the group at several different angles.

Their movements were too erratic and quick for anyone to react properly, and they distinguished between neither friend nor foe. In a mere moment, the small bird demons were completely destroyed. In the next, the magic turned on the closest living things.

Setsuna winced as one clipped the edge of her wing. The near-miss took off a few white feathers. Negi as well, could only dodge and do an intricate series of twists and loops to throw off the homing magic. Unfortunately, the others were not quite as lucky.

One of the threads flew into Asuna's face. She managed to block it and cancel it with her innate ability, but the impact threw off her balance.

"Waaah!" she yelled and toppled over the side of the owl.

"Asuna-san!"

Setsuna swooped and grabbed Asuna's free hand. "Got her!"

"Kyaaaah!"

Negi looked up and saw that the threads had overtaken the owl and were now focused on chaining down the large creature and the girls on it. Chisame struggled in her bonds and growled, "What the heck is this? I don't need this kind of fantasy!"

"Hehe, enjoy it while you can."

"Shut up, perverted mangaka!"

Negi pointed a finger at his enchained partners. **"Spirits of Darkness! Return to Nothing! Vanish – Evanesco!"**

At his command, the magic disappeared, but so did the owl. With screams of dismay, Haruna and Chisame plummeted down.

"Haruna-san! Chisame-san!"

Setsuna caught Haruna by the waist. Unfortunately, the added weight undermined her efforts at flight. Setsuna flapped her wings more quickly, but it was an undeniable fact that she was being pulled down. Meanwhile, Negi scooped up Chisame in his arms, bridal style.

Ooh, I like where this is going.

He pointedly shrugged off the voice and followed the rapidly descending swordswoman's descent.

"Hey, I see the bottom," Asuna called out.

Still in Negi's arms, Chisame blushed, "Great, then you can let me go."

"Watch out!" Negi called. "Someone's targeting us."

"Who else is there to target?" Asuna quipped, but she bit her tongue when a group of black arrows blasted into Negi's shield. A similar set of missiles came at her as well, but she was ready. She knocked them away with a swing that almost flipped Setsuna onto her side. Her blade stopped an inch from Haruna's nose.

"Whoa, watch it there…"

"Good reactions there, Negi Springfield," a voice drifted up to them. "Impeccable as always."

"Not quite as perfect as you think." Negi glared at the shadow thing that hovered in front of him. "Why are you attacking us?"

"You have something we want," replied the shadow, "just like I told you before."

"You… the boy from before?"

"I'll let you jump to your own conclusions. Meanwhile, why don't we take this fight to the floor? I'd rather not have to waste time chasing you down there."

"Fine with me."

Both mages began chanting at the same time again, while the battle moved downwards towards the pit's floor. As if replaying Negi's battle with Eva so long ago, the two mages exchanged a barrage of light and dark arrows, except this time, the explosions ripped through the air without harming a soul.

"**I summon the Spirits of Thirty-Three Deadly Valkyries…"**

"**I summon the Spirits of Thirty-Three Fallen Wights…"**

The air grew crowded with the forms of two armies preparing for battle.

"**Attack!"**

The white, glowing soldiers swooped down on their black counterparts. The black Wights, nothing more than shadows outlined with grey lines, raised their ashen swords in response and rushed to meet the spear-wielding Valkyries. The two armies met in a clash of magic steel.

As the summoned creatures raged into battle, Setsuna deposited Asuna and Haruna on the ground and flew back up to where Negi floated, directing his spiritual minions. Negi saw Setsuna's ascent out of the corner of his eye and, suddenly, Chisame found herself flying through open air, only to be caught by Setsuna a second later.

"What was that?" Chisame exclaimed.

"Sorry, Chisame-san. Setsuna-san will take you down to safety."

Negi turned back to the battle.

"Geez, you didn't have to throw me…"

Already, the number of Valkyries and Wights had been halved. Now they were locked in a war of attrition, each side losing numbers at the same slow rate, their forms dancing around each other like prowling cats. Negi ended the stalemate with a silent spell and his targets disappeared into nothingness.

It's like a mirror, Negi thought when the shadow imitated his action. Negi's own summons were struck by a hail of magic and disappeared into white mist.

The shadow thing hung in the air, blank except for a sliver of white across what it had for a face. The sliver of white was a smile and it taunted Negi.

Why don't you finish it now? asked the voice in his head.

Be quiet.

Negi felt the beginning of fatigue. Casting spell after spell, especially Jupiter's Storm, had drained him. But he shrugged it off. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Setsuna landing with Chisame.

That's right. I'm here to protect my students. All of them, especially Yue-san. One more time!

"**Oh Come, Spirits of Air and Lightning…"**

This time, instead of matching him spell for spell, the shadow said nothing. Instead, it raised a hand and another crowd of black arrows darted towards Setsuna's retreating figure. Negi intercepted them with his own body and blocked the remaining arrows with his magic shield. Before the dust had cleared, he aimed and fired.

Once again, the beam of piercing wind and lightning appeared at Negi's call. The obscuring dust was whipped away by the ferocious winds. The beam shot straight at the shadow.

"**I release thee from thy service, Ramnsa, Servant of the Trickster."**

Jupiter's Storm hit the shadow, but was repulsed by a sudden wave of energy. Lightning scattered harmlessly into the air and a blast of hot air threw Negi away from the shadow.

Then, white cracks began to form over the shadow's body. As it burst open, a dark shape flew out form the shell, but it moved too fast for Negi to get more than a glimpse of it: something that, whatever it was, was not human.

"Well boy," spoke a child's voice, "It was nice playing with you, but it seems my use is over. I'd play with you some more, but I'm itching to get back home. See you around."

Then, there was silence. A book dropped from above and barely missed his head. Its pages fluttered as it dropped to the floor below.

"At least the books weren't destroyed," Negi sighed, and then descended down next to his waiting partners.

At the bottom, he found Asuna and Setsuna guarding Haruna and Chisame carefully.

"Is there anyone around?" he asked as he landed with a soft tap.

"Nope. No one."

"What happened to the mage?"

Negi looked around.

A shaft of moonlight was the only source of light. There was no way to tell where it came from through the swirling clouds of dust that had been stirred up by the battle.

The place was old, but old was an understatement. Cracks lined the old stone floor, skittering across the rough surface like a tangle of vines and creepers. The curving line of bookshelves was covered by thick, dull grime and exuded a musty smell.

Only a small amount of the actual chamber could be seen. The rest was hidden by the thick, almost tangible darkness that seemed to hug the edges of the room like a long, black curtain.

"I'm not sure. Apparently it was a demon or something, bound into service to the ones behind this whole thing."

"A demon summoner? That sounds vaguely cool."

Chisame disagreed vehemently, "I hate this, I hate this! We almost got killed, you know?"

"Hardly. A few spells flying here and there and you're already that scared? Some partner you are."

Negi and the girls whirled around. "Wait, who said that?"

A figure stepped out of the darkness. Red was the first color that could be seen, but soon, the rest of the figure came into view. As she stepped into the moonlight, her hair gained a fiery quality.

"Blind idiots stumbling into things they don't understand. Why did you come here, Negi Springfield?"

Her red eyes reflected the light. Negi turned to the girl. "Risc-san, I thought it'd be you."

The rogue mage folded her arms. "Nothing gets past you, does it, thick head?"

"What? The new girl? Wasn't her hair blue?" Asuna turned to Negi with a fierce expression. "I want an explanation."

However, Negi brushed off her demand and asked Risc, "Why did you kidnap Yue-san? Why do you want the Stones?"

"Figures you'd change the subject."

"Negi. I hate it when you keep everything to yourself. Now spill."

Gentlemen listen to the requests of females, right?

Negi said nothing and the lines of his mouth tightened. Seeing that, Asuna tried another tactic. She turned to Setsuna, Haruna, and Chisame. "Don't you guys want to know too?"

"Not now, Asuna-san." Negi spoke calmly but never once took his eyes off of the rogue mage.

"It might as well be now! Well…?"

"Asuna-san, forces split apart are dead in war," Setsuna told her in a calm voice. "There's a time to argue and then there's a time to fight."

Setsuna gave her a smile, but that smile slipped and then was wiped completely off her face when Asuna said, "Yeah, I'll fight all right. I'll beat this brat to a bloody pulp."

"Not what I meant," Setsuna said as she buried her face in her hand.

Risc laughed and unfolded her arms. A red glow began to envelop her hands. Glowing orbs appeared in the air around her, scarlet and burning fiercely. "Chatter is good and all, but don't you think you're wasting just a bit too much time talking? After all, you need to rescue Ayase-san, right?"

In a second, all eyes had switched to her. Her eyes widened. "Now that's better." She smiled brightly. "Seems you're as ready as you'll ever be, so why don't I start things off?"

She began with a gesture. Flaming arrows shot forward, leaving behind lines of fire in their wake.

Negi summoned a gust of wind that threw Haruna and Chisame onto the floor. Gathering that same wind, he formed it into circle in front of him.

"**Limes Aeriales – Boundary Wall of Air!"**

The fiery arrows hit the wind barrier and scattered into a shower of sparks. The barrier took on the form of a large magic circle that flashed every time it was hit. Runes glowed brightly as they did their job of blowing away the searing fire.

Asuna battered away the stray magic while Negi took on the brunt of the barrage.

As the arrows died away, he once again gathered wind around them, but on a magnitude far greater than before.

**"O Turning Storm of Spring! Bestow your Aerial Protection upon us! Spin Counter to the Icy Gale of Winter! Blow Forth, Wall of Churning Wind! Augment, Icy Wall -**** Flans Paries Venti Vertentis! Adaugeo, Glacialis Paries!"**

Magic swirled overhead and froze. Two crystalline balls with light glowing from within flew into the air and began circling the group.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Asuna exclaimed as the wind picked up and began racing around them at increasingly frightening speeds.

"Sorry everyone, but this is my fight."

"Wait, Negi!"

As the tornado appeared, Negi took a couple steps forward and then became a blur. He cleared the tornado's perimeter in a second. Roaring and whistling, the tornado descended. Its wind sent Negi's clothes flapping as he came to a stop.

"How noble of you," Risc mocked, and then sent a smothering blanket of fire arrows Negi's way.

Negi flipped out of the way. Searing flames erupted underneath him as magic hit ground. He landed lightly and was already gathering magic power when he felt something sharp press against his neck. He froze, only moving his eyes enough to glance down.

There was nothing at his neck but empty air.

"You move rather slow," Risc clucked disapprovingly. She stepped into view, arms at her side. "Caught already. That was no fun at all."

Negi felt blood trickle from his neck and saw the red liquid pool momentarily on something unseen. Then, it continued trickling down, following the edge of an invisible sword.

The girl stepped closer to Negi until they were standing face to face. "Since you're here already, I'll be a good host and answer one question for you. Which will it be?"

Oh, ask about me, ask about me!

Negi spoke slowly and deliberately. "Why did you kidnap Yue-san?"

Aw, you're no fun.

Risc leaned in even closer until their cheeks were almost pressed together. She whispered in his ear, "Information."

Suddenly, the pressure at his neck disappeared and he suddenly found himself embraced by her.

Someone shouted, "What're you doing to Negi?" and then a series of loud clangs reverberated through the air.

Negi was thrown onto his back. He landed heavily, but quickly rolled away from Risc and got up onto his feet.

"Thanks for the brace," the girl winked at him. Behind her, two long swords quivered against the outlines of two gladii.

"That was harsh leaving us behind, Negi-sensei. We almost didn't make it out."

"Yeah, that stupid thing almost crushed us flat like bugs."

"Setsuna-san, Asuna-san! Why are you…?"

"Why do you always have to do things by yourself? We're here for you."

"Asuna-san…"

The stalemate broke when Risc brushed her shoulders, as if giving them a good dusting. Setsuna and Asuna grimaced as the pressure from the floating gladii increased. Then, a circle of fire erupted around Risc and the swords were forced away with a final, violent clang.

Setsuna and Asuna hopped back as the flames flared outwards. Slowly, the fire died down until there was nothing left but a circle of embers.

Risc hugged one of her gladii to her chest and licked away the blood that was slowly drying on the gladius' surface. She laughed as the blade vanished, "And I would have gotten away with it, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!"

She continued to laugh as Asuna gave Negi a severe look.

"We'll be sure to talk about this later," she told him, then winked, "but for now, I guess I'll have to take out my anger on this little girl."

Risc's laughter faded away and she bowed. "I feel honored."

Negi wiped the blood off of his neck. "Asuna-san, Setsuna-san." His ring gleamed silver in the light.

"Right!"

"Understood."

Setsuna ran forward first, Yunagi a mere line at her side. She dashed in a wide circle. Her path made her a hard target and also made it easier for her to evade the projectiles that came her way.

On the other hand, Asuna gave no thought to the danger of a frontal charge. As her style dictated, she charged Risc head-on. The mage, more than ready, peppered her with fire, but Asuna's magic cancel did the trick. A swing of her massive sword repelled the magic.

Negi saw Risc gape as her magic was cancelled. He immediately took advantage of this momentary shock. He followed the charge, sending a line of light arrows before him as a vanguard.

To her credit, Risc recovered quickly. She drew up a barrier that rendered the arrows useless. However, to draw up a barrier, a mage had to plant their feet in the ground. In that instant, she had stopped moving.

Steel met steel as Risc's guardian blades flashed into existence. Setsuna and Asuna brought all their strength down on the gladii. They weren't about to be pushed away again. The mage struggled to get out of the unfavorable situation, but the two Ministra Magi had locked her into place.

A bright, yellow light suddenly replaced the silver moonlight. Negi saw the mage look up as his spell gathered together a compressed ball of pure energy into his hand. With a shout, Negi threw it with all his might.

"**Axe of Lightning - Dios Tukos!"**

A howl pierced the air as the payload of lightning hit the ground, but the explosion that followed made the howl seem like a whimper.

Setsuna and Asuna skidded away from the cloud of dust.

Nice fireworks, I approve.

Negi shook his head, panting to catch his breath. Slowly, he descended to the ground.

"Geez, thanks for the warning," Asuna called as his feet touched the ground.

"You're… very welcome, Asuna-san." He turned to see Setsuna running at him. "Setsuna-san?"

"Negi-sensei, look out!"

Setsuna tackled Negi to the ground. A second later, Negi looked up in shock to see the weapon that would have impaled him a second before pierce the floor with a clang. A low humming came from the quivering sword, but stopped when a hand grabbed the hilt of the weapon.

"Negi Springfield, good evening."

A fist slammed into Negi's hastily erected barrier.

"Sagio," he grimaced as a burst of magic hit his shield. A clang followed his words.

Setsuna drew back her blade and rolled to the side as Sagio's sword slammed into the ground between her and Negi. Negi followed suit and got to his feet.

Once upright, he kept a wary eye on Sagio and looked around for Asuna.

He noticed Risc first. She had obviously taken damage, judging by her seared and ripped clothes, but she was fine enough to stand, and to do more than stand.

Asuna struggled in her grasp, the floating blades pressed at her neck. She was being held captive by Risc. The smaller girl wrapped her arms around Asuna's waist and winked at Negi.

"You're not the only one with support," Risc said simply, and flashed him a smile.

Something moved in the corner of Negi's eye. He wheeled around, only to be sent flying by an explosion at his feet.

Risc stuck out her tongue at him as he flew. Thinking furiously, Negi prepared to flip his body upright with a hand against the floor. Unfortunately, he was moving too slowly. From the side, came Sagio's large blade.

In that instant, Setsuna appeared between Negi and Sagio. She caught Sagio's blade with her own and halted its descent. Quickly, Negi righted himself and launched a kick over Setsuna's head. His foot hit the flat of the large sword and kicked it to the side. As if she had read Negi's mind, Setsuna attacked the opening with a savage thrust.

Sagio twisted aside, but Yunagi's sharp blade still drew blood. He grimaced and retreated. Setsuna sprinted after him, but Negi's focus was on someone else.

"**Ras Tel Ma Scir Magister - Shining Sparks and Swirling Thunder!"**

At his words, lightning gathered around his body and his hand began to shine.

"Wait, really?" Risc and Asuna blinked in unison.

"**Come together forming a crushing Lightning Fang!"**

"W-Wait a minute!"

"Words can't stop magic," Negi grinned and revealed the card up his sleeve. **"Summon, Ministra Negi Kagurazaki, Asuna."**

The giant jaw of lightning swallowed up Risc as Asuna appeared in a flash of light beside Negi. Asuna exhaled loudly in relief. Then, she glared at Negi.

"You cut that too close, Negi-brat…"

"Negi-brat? B-but…"

A line of fire raced in between Negi and Asuna. The intensity of the heat began increasing until the two were forced to take a couple steps back, away from each other.

Negi traced the line back to its source. His eyes narrowed.

Fire spun like a tornado and stood tall like a pillar. Inside the bright red flames, he could make out a shape. Risc stood with tattered clothes and a menacing and wild look in her eyes. Perhaps it was the fire's reflection, but her eyes seemed to glow crimson.

"Now, that was an interesting experience. I've never been eaten by lightning before. I didn't know you could."

Negi glanced over to the other side of the line. "Asuna-san, go help Setsuna-san first. Let me deal with her."

"Ha, like I'll let you get away," Risc shouted. **"Three Tails of Gathered Light and Flame! Arcing Fire – Arcus Incendia!"**

---

(1) "It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared." – Whitney M. Young

---

**Part I - End**


	13. Full Circle

**Notes:**

"Speech."

Thoughts

"**Spells."**

**Termination of Spirit: Contract's Initiation**

**Chapter Thirteen: Full Circle**

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The fire spinning around her was sucked like a vacuum around her hand. The line of fire between Asuna exploded into a high wall before lifting off the ground. It hung in the air like a whip. Two more similar whips shot out from the ball of fire at Risc's hand, one towards Negi and one towards Asuna.

Asuna fended off the whip with her blade. Wincing at the heat, she attacked it viciously. Soon, small patches of fire were littered around her, but the whip kept growing back. Her resistance was a hopeless gesture.

On the other hand, Negi leapt and rolled to evade the fire whipping at him. Instead of attacking the magic, he aimed for its source. He put on a burst of speed and dashed for Risc. A magic wind tailed him as it began to form into a more solid shape.

He leapt over a whip that would have swept him off his feet. Instead, it left a curving red line on the stone floor. As he dropped back to the ground, Negi quickly changed into a martial stance. He landed lightly and shifted his weight forward into a palm strike at Risc's face. His palm met a sharp edge, but magic and his training combined saved his hand.

Negi's reflexive motion was quick and simple. He pulled back his hand like a snake and spun to the side. He caught the gleam of a sword stabbing at empty air. Then, he unleashed the magic that he had gathered into a point blank spell. The resulting force launched the two mages in opposite directions.

As they flew, Negi began preparing another spell. Risc grimaced in response and swung her whips with their far reach. However, one large blade and its downward swing stood between them and their target.

Asuna, now free from the torments of attacking an indestructible opponent, cleanly cut apart the magic whips. They began to re-grow, but it was to be in vain. Negi moved past them in a blur. He appeared in front of Risc, swinging his fist in mid-air.

Once again, the shimmering forms of her gladii appeared to take the brunt of the attack. His fist met the overlapped blades with radiant energy. A bright light erupted from the magic encased around his fist.

"That won't work this time! **Raika Hōken - Lightning Blossom Crumbling Fist!"**

To Risc's wide-eyed surprise, first the blade on top cracked, and then the one on the bottom. With a sound like breaking glass, the two blades shattered.

Risc slammed into the ground, hard, from the recoil of the hit. Electricity crawled over her body. Her flaming whips disappeared as Negi stepped towards her. The fire gathered together in a whoosh and formed into a blade. She leapt at him with a thrust.

Negi pointed a finger and the fight was over. Bonds of wind wrapped around her, chaining her to the floor. The blade of fire disappeared; her magic was sealed.

"Urgh," she strained against her bonds, but the magic was unyielding.

Negi looked at her with a carefully blank expression. Then he raced off after Asuna, who had already gone to help Setsuna.

However, he stopped as he neared, clutching his chest. He breathed heavily and sank to a knee.

I used too much magic, he realized, panting heavily.

Slowly, he began to feel better, but he was far from battle ready. Still, he had a duty to protect his partners. He struggled to his feet, but nearly collapsed again from the strain.

The clang of steel echoed in the chamber. Negi willed himself to continue the fight, but his body was not listening. He couldn't afford a break, no matter how small. He had to end this quickly.

Should I take over now?

"Not… yet…" Negi growled.

So I can later?

A strong gust of wind nearly toppled his already weak body. Negi looked, aghast, at the diminishing force of the tornado keeping Haruna and Chisame away from the battlefield. With one last gust of wind, it completely disappeared. Before the two girls within could react, the twin blue orbs still circling them exploded into great sheets of water that plummeted to the ground like waterfalls. The moment the great mass of water hit the ground, it froze solid, so dense nothing could be seen of Haruna or Chisame. Negi had bought himself another three minutes, but it would not last.

"End it quickly," Negi murmured. He took a deep breath and clamped down the pain. Then, he went past his limit. A rush of magic appeared around him like rainbow mist and then drew into his body. Negi focused his entire attention on the battle.

"Got you!" Asuna crowed as she swung her sword with all her might. To her dissatisfaction, Sagio leapt out of the way. Her sword smashed into the ground and split it with a mighty crack. She tried to get in a second strike but her sword was stuck in the ground. A blur went past beneath her.

Setsuna's met Sagio in a headlong clash that lasted only a mere second. As their blades parted, she stepped to the right. Sagio's weapon fell harmlessly to her side. She slashed at his head and he mimicked her movements, stepping to the side, but Setsuna's agile feet had already put her into position for another strike.

Using the momentum of her swing, she spun once and struck with all her force. Sagio was forced to fend off the savage blow with his blade. She continued the attack, spinning again. Again, he blocked, but the impact of her sword was so great that their weapons bounced apart. A second later, Setsuna had closed the gap once more, and this time, their blades locked.

"**Noctius Somnium…!"**

Setsuna recognized the phrase as the mage's activation keyword. She growled. It was truth that she was a better swordsman; she could tell by the earlier exchange of blows. However, their blades were locked in a way that the first person to back out would be cut down.

A strong wave of killing intent suddenly struck them both. Setsuna was thrown off guard, and Sagio took advantage of that. His blade shrunk back to its flute form and the deadlock was broken. He turned it to face the feeling of magic. Negi suddenly appeared in his face.

"Too slow," Negi whispered, and then disappeared again. At the same moment Sagio's flute sprouted its blade Negi struck Sagio from behind, binding him with glowing green chains. "Two down."

A flash of light illuminated the whole chamber. The blinding brilliance scoured away the darkness from even the smallest corner. In that instant, a thought flashed through Negi's mind. Two down? But there were… 

Negi leapt away from Sagio, even as the green chains snared the mage to the ground. "Watch out!" he yelled to Setsuna and Asuna, but before he could tell them what to look out for, a long, white spike hit him and pinned him to the ground.

He screamed in agony, but fought off the wave of faintness with all that he had. He had managed to twist last second so that the spike had skewered his side instead of dead center in his stomach. Still, the pain was almost unbearable. Almost.

Negi twisted his head. Setsuna's eyes were closed tightly, though no other action belied her pain. An identical spike had pierced her thigh. Then, the spikes disappeared. Setsuna managed to hold off the ground with a bloody hand, but Negi wasn't so fortunate. He hit the ground hard, threatening another scream through his hoarse throat. He clenched his teeth and focused instead on the words of a healing spell. The pain interfered, ruining his concentration.

Rashly, Negi drew raw magic to him and Setsuna. The unbridled energy stopped the bleeding but was too undirected and Negi too weak for it to heal. The effort drained him to the point where, for a moment, his body refused to move.

"Ow," Asuna complained as she got up from the ground, apparently unscathed, "What was that? It knocked me halfway across the room."

Negi smiled in relief. At least Asuna was all right. Setsuna, sword at the ready in her left hand, offered him a hand up. "Thank you, Negi-sensei," she said weakly.

Negi shook his head, and took her hand. He felt so weak that she had to support him or he would have toppled back to the ground.

"Thanks," he said, and would have said more, had he not been interrupted.

"Good instincts," praised a voice, ripping the smile from his face, "It's not simple turning a surprise blow into something less than fatal."

Negi raised his head.

"Ansien."

The last rogue mage stood on a stone walkway, the doorway it led to just barely visible as a dark portal. Something caught his eye, a figure standing beside Ansien. Suddenly, all his senses heightened. "Yue-san!" he yelled. Setsuna tensed.

"Negi-sensei! Negi!" Yue called back.

"What'd you do to her?" Negi demanded.

"I did nothing to her. She's been treated as an honored guest."

"Ansien…" Negi growled warningly.

"Look into my eyes and tell me if I'm lying."

Ansien pulled away the patch to reveal a serpentine eye, dilated and glowing yellow. Negi knew something was up, and yelled, "Look away!" but it was already too late.

Negi's whole body became numb. The feeling left his feet. Everything seemed to dim and become a shade of gray. Colors blended together, became dull, uniform, monochrome.

"Negi-sensei!"

He looked down. Slowly, his feet began to turn to stone. Just like that day during the Kyoto trip. It seemed so long ago. Negi struggled to his feet and tried to take a step towards Ansien, but his foot felt like it was chained to the ground. He couldn't even lift it. It felt heavy, like he was wearing shoes made of lead.

Steel rang against stone. Setsuna growled as she struck at the petrification crawling up her legs. Stone chipped but the growth didn't slow.

Asuna, seemingly unaffected by the petrifying gaze, ran over. "Hey, what happened?"

As she crossed the middle of the room, a magic circle flared to life under her feet. The circle glowed purple. The light was dimmer where Asuna stood but that did not stop the magic. Stone hands rose from the ground and grabbed her ankles. She tripped and fell flat on her face. Immediately, two more stone hands locked her hands to the floor.

Asuna lifted her head from the ground and growled, "Let me go or I'll kick your sorry little—"

Another hand rose from the floor and pushed her head back down, cheek flat against the cold stone.

"That's no language to use with your host," Ansien said.

"Asuna-san," Negi called, "are you all right?"

Asuna's reply was an unintelligible mumble. The stone hand kept her face pinned firmly against the ground.

Metal clattered to the floor. Setsuna's sword arm had petrified to the elbow. Her whole midriff and below was now stone, making it impossible for her to even bend over. Negi grit his teeth. He could no longer feel his legs. A glance down confirmed that his legs too had turned to stone.

"Why do you need the stones?" Negi asked, hoping to buy time.

Ansien didn't bite. "A dying man is better off without knowing any secrets."

"A dead man can't talk."

"Ah, but it's not guaranteed he'll stay dead."

The situation looked bad. Both Negi and Setsuna were slowly turning into statues and for all intents and purposes, Asuna was already one. She squirmed and struggled but the grip around her limbs were literally set in stone.

A voice spoke in his head, Seriously, you can't do anything right.

Without warning, Negi lost complete control of his body. Roughly, with a motion that was almost physical, he was pushed to the back of his mind, and someone else—something else—took over. His lips moved without his command.

"**Adeat!" **

Dark matter swirled around Negi, and, with a flash of black light, the stone crumbled and fell away from him like a layer of skin.

"Impossible," Ansien muttered, shocked. Negi took a step forward, then two. Smoothly, casually, he sauntered towards Ansien.

Ansien raised a hand. His mouth formed words but no sound came from his lips. Instead, Asuna, Setsuna, and Yue heard a buzzing that seemed to come from within their own heads. It made thought almost impossible, but Negi seemed unfazed.

Ansien narrowed his eyes, and gave a wordless shout. A ball of black matter swirled into being above his open palm, and then lengthened into the shaft of a long, jagged spear. Glowing black flames crawled hungrily over its falcon shaped point. It quivered, barely held back.

Yue looked at him with wide eyes, mind struggling to grasp the image through the incessant buzzing. "What are you doing?"

The rogue mage's response was not directed at her, but at Negi who stood in tattered clothes and dried blood, looking up with a faint smile.

"Perish, monster."

The buzzing became an anticipant keen. The spear lunged forward, letting out a shriek. As if in answer, a boom resonated in the air. Ansien winced as the black spear drew a red line across his arm. Ansien stumbled back as Negi landed on the stone walkway.

Sparks hissed from where Negi's hand held the spear but he didn't loosen his grip. Somewhere along the way, his hair had come loose from its ponytail. With his hair unbound, he looked a demon.

Inevitably, he jabbed the spear at Ansien, but the rogue mage waved a hand and the spear disappeared. However, Negi's fist continued. With a loud smack, Ansien was thrown off the walkway.

"Negi," Yue started but her voice caught in her throat when he turned to face her. Negi's eyes locked onto hersHer eyes became unfocused and then glazed over. Negi caught her as she dropped to the floor, and gently set her down on the walkway.

A wave of killing intent warned him of imminent danger. Negi leapt off the walkway, batting aside a burning arrow with a hand. Behind him, other red arrows lit up the wall, marking a circle around Yue's prone form with blast marks.

Negi landed softly, slowed by a cushion of wind. Around him, magic gathered into twenty-nine black arrows, whirling around him in a chaotic, complex weave. Most of these arrows fell out of the pattern and then darted upwards to meet their fiery kin in mid-air. The remainder wrapped their orbits closer to Negi's body, but before he could give them their commands, Sagio attacked.

Sagio thrust at his head, sword giving off a discordant hum, but Negi ducked under the blade. Negi struck with his elbow, but the mage leapt back and caught his follow-up punch on the flat of his blade. They struggled against each other for a tense second. Then the blade disappeared, leaving Negi to stumble forward into a harsh knee in the gut.

The impact stunned Negi, but he recovered quickly enough to roll out of the way as Sagio's blade reformed. The blade struck with enough force to pierce through the stone floor. Using it as a ramp, Negi jumped onto the flat of the blade, and then leapt up over Sagio's head. As he sailed overhead, he left a line of black arrows in his wake.

The black bolts shot down from the sky like a satellite strike. Sagio launched a shockwave overhead to repel the magic arrows, but the instant his sword was raised, Negi swooped in under his arm and struck him with a palm. Sagio was launched away with a crackle of dark magic.

Negi followed, cutting into an instant movement that positioned him directly over the flying figure. Without a sound, he slammed Sagio into the ground with his heel.

"Sagio!" Risc called from behind Negi, betraying her presence.

Without warning, Negi blurred, only to reappear in front of Risc. The girl ran into him at full speed, but instead of knocking him over like a battering ram, rebounded as if she had hit a stone wall. As she wind-milled to keep her balance, Negi grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. Survival instinct drew her hands to her throat, scrabbling and scratching at his hand. For a moment, Negi watched her struggle to pull free from his iron grip. Then, a whistling caught his attention.

Stone spires fell from the sky. He let Risc go. She dropped and hit the floor writhing, gasping for air. She kicked at his legs but he simply hopped over her feet and strode casually towards Ansien. Not one of the stone spires hit him though one came dangerously close to crushing Risc.

Ansien backed away. Though his face was a calm mask, a flicker of fear showed through his eyes. Negi's grin split his face in half. The unnatural sight spurred the rogue mage to movement. Stepping back again to create some distance, he summoned a storm of grey arrows. Unfazed, Negi stepped forward.

The stone arrows swarmed forward like angry bees defending their hive, but all were pushed away to the sides. The magic flowed past Negi river water around a rock, colliding happenstance into the ground behind him. From the smoke emerged a pure white orb, hovering over Negi's shoulder. A Roman numeral one floated suspended in it, black lettering stark against the brilliance.

Ansien continued to launch wave after wave of grey arrows at Negi to no avail. Each one missed, redirected like small magnets repulsed by a larger one. With each wave, the value of the Roman numeral increased by one.

When the Roman numeral hit six, Negi made his move. The white orb left his shoulder and hovered directly in front of him. Another wave of grey arrows was pushed away by its protective barrier, but this time, the orb answered with six spikes that were launched from the ball at Ansien. The jagged shapes whistled past the mage's defenses, hooked onto his clothes, and pinned him against the wall.

Then, a muddled spot appeared within the white orb. A familiar shape began to emerge from the orb. A spear, the color of overshadowed green, materialized, blade first, aimed at Ansien. A maniacal laughter escaped Negi's lips as he prepared to skewer his target.

All of a sudden, the laughter was choked off. Weakly, a voice said, **"A…Abeat!"**

The spear cracked and splintered and then fell glittering to the floor like tiny crystals. It formed a small mound of fine black dust and then faded away. Likewise, the illusion surrounding Negi disappeared. In the blink of an eye, the truth was revealed.

The petrification had completely arrested his arms at his side. Even now, the grey wave was creeping inexorably up his arms, to his shoulders, and ultimately towards his neck.

"Get out of my body!" Negi hissed through clenched teeth. "I will not… do what you want!"

The spikes disappeared, releasing Ansien, who stumbled slightly before regaining his balance. With a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes, he began to move towards Negi. A deadly sharp blade stopped him in his tracks.

"Stop," Asuna said simply. Slowly, Ansien tilted his head towards at her. His golden, serpentine eye flickered oddly as he turned, but Asuna didn't flinch when their eyes met. Instead, she gave him a cold, hard stare, and despite a flicker of desperation, held his answering gaze steady.

"One wrong move," she said, "and off goes your head. Now change them back."

"One wrong move from you and his head's not the only one that'll roll."

Asuna's head snapped towards Negi where Risc held Sagio's fallen blade aloft. Her arms quivered with the effort but the blade remained steady. For a second, Asuna faltered, and in that second, Ansien struck. With a magic enforced fist, he knocked Asuna's sword into the air and before she could react, kicked her. It was an untrained kick that did little more than push her away, but that was enough for him to catch her sword as it came down.

"Kill him," he told Risc with only a slight hitch in his voice and swung the immense sword at its former wielder.

Ringing metal filled the chamber with a chaotic raucous.

Asuna fell back onto the ground as the sword hit a huge battleaxe, completely black except for the glowing white runes inscribed in its haft. The sharp steel—also black—shuddered from the impact, but remained stuck in the ground.

"Now, now, little boys shouldn't pick on little girls. Even if the boy is smaller than the girl."

"Y-You!" Asuna sputtered in recognition and annoyance.

Matthew Frist winked cockily at Asuna. Behind him, Ansien stood surrounded by practically an armory of weapons, all with business ends pointed at him.

"Matthew," he spat. "If you're here then that means…"

"Uh-uh," Matthew cut him off. "Wait a little. Don't spoil the moment."

He glared at Matthew but dared not move.

"Negi," Asuna breathed and turned.

Joshua Nosfir stood over Negi, holding back Risc with seemingly no effort. Then, he disarmed her with a flourish, and held her at blade point. Negi smiled wanly to Asuna. Relief made her smile back.

"Negi-kun!" a familiar voice yelled. Konoka unclipped the rappelling rope she had used to descend from her belt. Beside her, Nodoka did the same.

"Negi-sensei!"

"I'm… I 'm all right," Negi called back weakly. "But Setsuna-san needs help."

"Se-chan?" Konoka exclaimed worriedly, and rushed over to Setsuna. The stone had reached her neck and her breaths were coming in short, ragged gasps, but she managed to quirk a smile at her friend. Konoka made quick work of the petrification.

Negi clenched down the panic as he felt his own breath start to catch. Konoka rushed over to him as soon as she finished with Setsuna. Asuna watched in concern as Konoka went to work restoring feeling to Negi's limbs, all the while fussing about how she knew it would come to this, that she would have to fix him up again like always.

"See, I told you, you needed me," she pouted.

"Thank you for coming," Negi said sincerely. "But how did you know we were here? Library Island is too big for you to have found us by chance."

"When we got to Chao-san's lab, those two were already waiting for us," Nodoka explained. "They said that you needed help so we came as fast as we could."

"Looks like we got here right on time," Konoka observed, waving a hand across the debris strewn battlefield.

"I'm glad you came," he repeated, "but how did they know we were here?"

Konoka and Nodoka looked at each other and shrugged.

"Where's Yue?" Nodoka asked.

"She's safe," Negi said with a tired smile. "She's asleep. I'll go get her."

"One step ahead of you, Negi-sensei," Setsuna said, landing gently with Yue in her arms. Her wings folded across her back and then seemingly disappeared. Even though she was no longer petrified, Setsuna looked a mess. Scratches from more than three minutes ago—scratches that Konoka could not heal—covered her from head to toe. Negi figured he didn't look much better, maybe worse.

Strange that it's only been three minutes.

Negi gently shook Yue awake. At first she grumbled, but then her eyes snapped open, wide awake.

"Wh-What?" she exclaimed, scrambling backwards. "I thought, but…"

Negi kneeled down next to Yue and put his hands on her shoulder. "Everything's fine now, Yue-san. It's over."

"Negi…sensei." All of a sudden, Yue broke into tears and collapsed into Negi's arms.

"There, there," Negi soothed. His voiced wavered slightly. Strangely, it was this display of emotion that sent everything careening back. A roil of feelings swept him like a wave breaking on rocks, slowly wearing down the solid stone. He clamped them down; there would be a time for retrospection later. Now…

Negi looked over at where Matthew and Joshua had rounded up the trio of rogue mages and dumped them together.

Asuna followed his gaze and said, "I don't trust them." She jabbed a thumb at Matthew and Joshua. "There's something fishy about them."

Konoka beamed, "Always so suspicious, Asuna-chan."

"Yeah, maybe," she conceded though she didn't look much convinced.

"You look worried," Setsuna pointed out.

"I agree with Asuna-san. There's something wrong."

Setsuna suggested, "Maybe you should ask them directly."

Negi nodded. His friends followed as he walked towards Matthew and Joshua.

A loud crack made them turn around. The wall of ice that had kept Haruna and Chisame safe throughout the fray now split and then fell to the ground in pieces. A large, white shape burst out from the falling, glassy ice.

Haruna whooped from atop her oversized snowy owl and said, "Enter the master artist Saotome, Haruna and her sidekick Hasegawa, Chisame!"

Her exuberance was diminished when she realized that there was no one left to fight. The owl landed and Haruna dismounted with a sheepish grin. Looking pale, Chisame got off in a hurry and rushed off to one side to be sick.

"Good timing, Haruna-san," Negi beamed. "The fight's over. Now it's time to get some answers."

"Aww, it's over already?"

Asuna whirled on her. "Just be grateful you didn't almost get turned to stone."

Haruna's eyes widened. "I'd like the details," she said grimly, "but later."

"Hello Negi Springfield," Joshua greeted as they neared.

Negi nodded curtly. "Do you finally feel like talking?"

"With what little time we have left," Matthew said.

He looked at the captured mages.

"We'll talk, we'll talk," Risc sighed dramatically. "Like we have much choice. I don't feel like being skewered, and I'm not about to let any nonsense called loyalty take my life. I don't owe them anything."

"Them?"

"The Martian government."

"Say what?" Asuna asked.

"You know that Matt and I are from the future," Joshua answered. "The truth is, they are too."

Ansien continued, "We were sent back to take hold of an artifact that would breach the gap between humans and demonkind."

"The Stones," Negi breathed.

"Yes," he said tonelessly.

"Who sent you back, and why?"

"Those who did this to us…" Matthew said, pulling back a sleeve. Runes were tattooed, etched, into his arm and continued under his clothing. "…then threw us away when the demon-born were created."

"Demon born?"

"We," Sagio said, referring to Ansien, Risc, and himself, "have the blood of demons flowing within our veins. They tore out the very essences of the demons from corpses and infused them in us."

"That's monstrous," Negi growled. "But how could it happen? Human experimentation is all but gone now.

"The answer is Mars."

"Mars? Where Chao-san comes from?"

"Yes. Chao was born on mars, and so were we."

"Mars is in a state of anarchy, though it was originally founded to be a refuge from the corruption of Earth. But the corruption followed the settlers to the red planet. Half the world is ruled by a despotic government, the other half is not ruled at all."

"In order to gain and keep their power, the government created their own army."

"First, the mages that could be created out of any person, born of magical talent or not," said Matthew.

Sagio finished, "And second, the demon-born."

"What happens if you don't get the artifact?"

"Nothing good, obviously," Matthew answered in their stead, "but we can't allow the Martian government to hold even more power. That's why we're here."

"How did you even get here?" Risc asked.

"Oh, got ourselves caught on purpose, made sure that our crime involved being sent back to the past, and then took it like men."

Risc rolled her eyes.

Joshua added, "With a little help from Chao, we made it here just in time to stop you."

Negi had more questions to ask, but then the world shivered and groaned. For a moment, everything became blurry, but the moment passed and everything became crisp again, leaving nothing changed. Nothing changed except for six figures that hadn't been there before.

The six surrounded the group in twos, spaced equally apart. Three of them held swords, the other three tall staffs. Each group had the swordsman in front and the mage in back.

"They're here early," Matthew growled.

"What's happening?" Negi demanded.

"Great, you just had to spill," Risc said.

Matthew glared, "Hey, weren't you the one who basically told us to tell them everything?"

"Hey, hey," Asuna said, "these guys don't look friendly."

"Of course not. They're the time cops."

"T-Time cops?" Nodoka asked.

"They're here cause we spilled the beans on Mars."

"They're from the Martian government?"

"No, but they go for anyone who blabs secrets about the future. Time integrity or something like that."

A monotone voice spoke, "Inhabitants of Third Earth and Fourth Mars in Universe Eta, you have been found guilty of information-sharing law infraction. Your memories will now be erased. Do not resist or we will have to destroy your Time Lines."

Yue stood with Negi's help, a gleam in her eye.

"Time Lines," she repeated. "Does that mean that we are all anchored to our past and future through a line that contains all possible choices, powered by history?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, probably better," Haruna said.

"Now's not the time for philosophy," Matthew said. Turning to his captives, he asked, "Promise not to turn on us if we release you?"

"You have your truce," Ansien said.

Matthew whistled and the threatening weapons sank into the ground and disappeared. Risc stretched luxuriously and said, "All right, another fight. Sounds fun to me."

"Can you even do anything?" Asuna asked ill-naturedly. "You got beaten by Negi like that." Asuna snapped.

"At least I can do more than you," she glared back.

"Asuna-san, Risc-san, please." Negi clenched his fist. His entire body still felt wobbly. The blanket of exhaustion over him seemed even heavier than before.

The monotone voice spoke again: "Your resistance has been noted. Punishment shall be exacted."

The mages began a joint incantation, chanting at the same time, except each spoke in a different language. One used Latin, one used Greek, and the last used a language that Negi had never heard before. Their bodies glowed with bright violet light, which then spread from their feet, extended along the ground, and met. The fiery lines made enclosed everyone in a circle and then split to make new patterns.

"They're carving a magic circle," Negi said.

"Then we've got to stop them," Ansien said simply.

Bright lights appeared around the group as several mages drew magic simultaneously. Fireworks of magic burst outward from the center of the forming magic circle. The magic arrows honed in on its three central points, but the three swordsmen were not about to let their charges get hit.

They shimmered and became blurs, knocking magic arrows out of the air with their swords. Multiples of each person dashed forward to meet the barrage. For a moment, Negi thought they were using instant movement, but then he noticed that they always started and returned to a position in front of their mage, and seemed to be too substantial to be mere body clones. A glimmer caught his eye, the metal of a circular object reflecting light. Then he knew.

"Cassiopeias," he said. "They have Cassiopeias."

"That's why they're called the Time Police," Risc said, with another roll of her eyes.

"How can we win then?"

The answer came in the form of a shimmer in the air. There was a crackle and then Chao appeared from out of nothing. In her hands, she held a Cassiopeia that Negi could immediately tell was different. Chao smiled at him, and then suddenly, she was everywhere at once.

The swordsmen tried to fight back, appearing a few paces behind themselves, but Chao was one step ahead of them. As they lagged back into the past, she appeared behind them, landing a few blows before they fled again.

"The betrayer," one of the swordsmen grunted, fending off a savage kick.

"I was never one of you," Chao replied, and dispatched him with the same kick he had blocked a moment before.

"Future prediction with going back into the past," Negi muttered. "A Cassiopeia that can do both."

The mages took no notice of their partners' predicament, but continued to form their spell, and all were all but powerless to stop them. Chao tried, but her physical strikes were deflected by magic barriers.

Seeing the hopelessness of the situation before everyone else, Negi said, "Chao-san!"

She flashed by, but in that moment, Negi got a glimpse of her face. She knew too.

"There's a reason why I chose your time to reveal magic," her disembodied voice drifted to his ears. "Throughout history, there have been thousands of turning points. If I had gone back and changed just one of them, the world would be very different today. Too different."

One of the enemy swordsmen cried out as Chao tripped him and then landed on his chest, only to flip away as his ally took a swing at her.

"I picked the Mahora Festival because it was closer to my time, the results more controllable, and the world more stable. I had hoped that you would join me, but I knew from the beginning that it was a vain hope. You would not join me unless I gave you a valid reason, and I could not without being found by those who protect the fabric of time.

"So, I took a risk… but it failed."

For a second, she faltered. Then, Chao's disembodied voice continued. "Now I have to correct my mistake. This time, I'll do what I should have done, what I should have done the first time."

Chao dispatched the last swordsman and turned to Negi. Her Cassiopeia was glowing fiercely. Suddenly, it cracked open, revealing the complicated machinery within. Gears and cogs turned at blurring speed, and deep within, a small crystal sparkled. In its tiny reflection, Negi saw a picture that he remembered.

"Chao-san!" he called desperately, suddenly aware of what she was about to do.

She only smiled and said, "I'll see you all on the other side."

They were wrapped up by a bright, warm light.

---

The clean, fresh air hit him. Mahora Park echoed with celebration and shouting. In the distance, fireworks bloomed in the shape of flowers, words, and once the World Tree. The last night of the Mahora Festival was ending in a bang.

All of a sudden, Negi felt tired as if he had gone through a grand adventure. Then again, the battle of Mahora had been more than just a grand adventure.

Chao jumped onto the tallest pillar in the park and then let the magic lift her effortless into the air. She hovered there for a moment, looking down at them.

Then, in a sad tone, she said, "Then I shall return to my own battlefield."

For some reason, the words seemed more significant than before. But before? When was before…?

Chao continued, "Negi-bouzu, you stay here and fight on."

"Chao-san!"

She gave him the slightest shake of her head, barely imperceptible. She turned to speak to Satsuki, Hakase, Chachamaru, and finally, Ku Fei. Through it all, Negi stayed still, a well of emotions overflowing within him. She really was going to leave this time. It wasn't a joke. Shouldn't he try to convince her to stay? He should, shouldn't he? Yes, he'd do it by any means…

"Negi-sensei," Chao said. "This is goodbye."

And he understood then that whatever he said would be in vain.

Negi put on a brave face and gave her his best smile. She smiled back and then the magic circle above her wrapped her in a great light.

"Chao-san!" Negi called over the rumbling.

"So long Negi-bouzu…" she said, "let us meet again!"

"Y-Yes, one day!"

The pillar of light faded away, leaving behind the night sky and a softly glowing red star within a sea of sparkles.

"For sure…"

**Fin – The End.**

**---**

**Ending Note: **Thank you for following the adventures of Negi and his friends as told by a fledgling writer who has grown tremendously as a result. Special thanks go to my reviewers who made the journey worth far more by their attention and input. Also, special thanks go to Dark Dragon Dave for helping me find the split of this tremendous ending which spanned 12,500 words before the split. Once again, thanks for reading. Until we meet again. One day, for sure.

Happy New Year. Cheers to the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009.

-Eternal Longing

**Disclaimer:** Negima! is the property of Ken Akamatsu. It is thanks to his manga that Negima fanfiction is able to exist. The original characters—Risc, Sagio, Ansien, Matthew, Joshua, and little-seen Egare—are the property of Eternal Longing, as is the plot. Thanks for reading.


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